The Game of Life
by SammySoSassy
Summary: She shut her eyes, hoping that it would stop the tears that were cascading down her face. She deserved it all. She was despicable. Useless. Unwanted. She didn't belong. She opened her eyes, a thought flying through her head. Weren't parents supposed to care for you? To always be there for you? To love you? So how come hers weren't? AH AU
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, so this is my new story. Just so you guys know, this is a pretty depressing story. I know it starts out pretty slow, but i get to the plot as soon as some things are established. I hope you guys enjoy it:)**

 **On with the story!**

~oOo~

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Yelled Clary, her tiny feet running to the door. She grabbed the stepping stool that rested beside the door and shifted it so that she could look through the peephole.

She hopped off the stool, a giant smile on her face, and opened the door. "Jacey!" She cried. She enveloped the young boy in a hug. The boy laughed and hugged her back. "Hi Clary. You wanna come out and play with me and Isabelle and Alec?" He asked her eagerly. "Umm, I don't know, Jace. Mom said that I had to eat my dinner before I play outside." Jace pouted. "Pretty please?" He pleaded, his golden hair falling into his golden eyes. "Fine, but if mum gets mad at me, then you're not my friend anymore." "Okay." Jace replied with a massive smile on his face. "Come on, let's go!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her outside. Clary quickly shut the door behind her and ran after Jace.

"Catch me if you can!" Jace called. "Jace, wait up, I can't run that fast!" Her foot caught on a crack in the road. Clary put her arms out in front of her, her face getting closer and closer to the pavement. "Jace!" She shrieked a moment before she landed. Her hands hit the ground first, the rest of her body landing on top of her left arm. It bent awkwardly, and she could swear she heard a crack. She screamed from the pain, and started crying. "Jace, help me! My arm! Help!" She cried, her face covered in tears.

"Jace?" She called out. The young boy came running, his mother behind him. "Clary! Are you alright, darling? Jace saw you trip and came and got me right away." Jace's mother, Celine said, her voice filled with worry. She helped to pull the girl up, grabbing her uninjured arm, seeing the awkward position of her left arm. "Oh dear, we should take you to the hospital, Clary, that arm looks broken! Jace honey,go knock on Clary's door and tell her mother what happened, ok?" After Celine finished talking, Jace ran to Clary's house and rang the doorbell frantically, waiting for Clary's mother Jocelyn to answer the door.

"Umm, hi Ms Fairchild. Clary tripped and fell and I think she broke her arm, so my mom is gonna take her to the hospital, and it's all my fault I'm really, really, _really_ sorry, please don't be mad at Clary, because if you get mad at her she won't be my friend anymore, and I really want Clary to be my friend, so please don't be mad at her." Jace said frantically. He was on the verge of tears, but didn't want to cry in front of Clary. He wanted to seem tough. His father had told him that if he wanted to become a man, you had to be tough. Jace wanted Clary to think he was a man.

The Jocelyn was silent for a moment. "Jace, calm down, it's alright, I'm not mad." Jocelyn grabbed her car keys. "Come on, get in the car, I'll drive us to the hospital." Jocelyn unlocked her car. Jace ran to the door and threw it open, jumping into the back seat. Jocelyn hustled over and started the car, pulling out of the driveway. "Alright, Jace. Where are they?"

Jace thought for a moment. "Um, they're just in front the Blackthorn house."

"Alright," Jocelyn was lost in thought. She pulled up to the house.

"Alright you two, here's the plan. Clary, you sit in the back with Jace, Celine, you come sit in the front with me, no 'if's, and's or 'but's. Capiche?" Jocelyn ordered. Clary hiccuped, but nodded her head. Celine picked Clary up in her arms and put her in the car, buckling her seat belt for her, then went to sit in the front seat.

~oOo~

They got to the hospital in 15 minutes, and waited another 10 minutes, when finally, they were called into the room with the doctor. "Hi there, my name is Doctor Caterina. I'll be helping you fix that arm of yours, okay?" The woman told Clary. Clary nodded hesitantly. "Alright then, Clary. First, I'm going to have to do an x-ray of your arm, and we'll see what happens from there. Sound good?" She asked the girl. Clary nodded again.

~oOo~

Clary got her arm checked out, her mother by her side the entire time. Clary wanted Jace to be there as well, but because they weren't family, he and Celine had to stay in the waiting room.

As it turned out, Clary had fractured her bone, and had to keep a cast on it for 5 weeks. "Five whole weeks?" Clary had whined. Jocelyn laughed at her daughter. "Oh Clary, it's only 5 weeks." Caterina gave Jocelyn instructions about how to take care of Clary and her cast.

After Jocelyn dropped Celine and her son back at their house, Jocelyn told Clary the do's and don'ts of having a cast. It didn't do much help though, because Clary's 6 year old mind kept wandering off to "Shadow world" where she was a shadowhunter who drew "runes" on her body to get special powers, and saved people's' lives. "Understand, sweetheart?" Jocelyn interrupted Clary's thoughts. "Ummm, ya, I guess…" Clary said, not really understanding the context of the statement.

They pulled up into the driveway. Jocelyn got out of the car first, and then helped her daughter out of the car. Suddenly, Clary looked up at her mother with worried eyes. "Mum, am I in trouble?" Jocelyn thought for a moment. "I was going to ground you," Clary whimpered. " _but_ , since you ended up breaking your arm, I decided that that was punishment enough. So no, Clary, you aren't in trouble. " Clary let out a sigh of relief, a huge smile growing on her face. "Yay! Thanks mom!" Clary cried, wrapping her arms around her mother's legs. " _However,_ that doesn't mean that I'm not angry with you Clary. You deliberately disobeyed me! You know that you're not supposed to go outside and play before dinner, much less without asking me first!" Clary whimpered against her mother's legs, and looked up at her face. She stifled a smile, her mother's fiery red hair reminded her of a lion, specifically Mufasa from _The Lion King_ , especially when he had scolded Simba for doing… practically the same thing as she had done.

"What are you smiling about, Missy?" Jocelyn scolded. "You sounded like Mufasa." Clary giggled. It took a moment for Jocelyn to register what Clary had said. "I suppose I did." Jocelyn laughed, picking her daughter up in her arms. "Come on, let's go eat dinner. After that, _maybe_ you can go outside and play." She smiled at her daughter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. I just checked how many followers I've got and oh my gosh! I got 14 followers from the first chapter! Thank you guys so much :) Well, here's the next chapter. Enjoy. Also, don't forget to leave a review :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Mortal Instruments or it's characters, Cassandra Clare does.**

~oOo~

Clary still had 1 more week before her cast could come off for good. She had been counting the days excitedly.

"Clary, could you come down for a moment?" Jocelyn called to Clary. "Okay." Clary said, bounding down the stairs and stopping to stand in front of her mother. "Clary, Luke and his son Jonathan are coming over for dinner. I want you to be on your best behavior, okay?" Jocelyn told her daughter. Clary hesitated, but nodded her head. She didn't like Luke. He was scary, with his messy brown hair and his short beard that covered the bottom half of his face. He reminded her of a werewolf. His son Jonathan wasn't bad though. He was turning 9 that year, and looked nothing like Luke with his long, jet black hair that fell into his chocolaty eyes. Jonathan was funny. He could always find a way to make Clary laugh.

Jocelyn interrupted her thoughts. "Clary, are you listening?"

"Um, sorry. What?"

Jocelyn sighed. "I _said,_ go change into your green dress, then come back down here so I can do your hair. Capiche?"

Clary nodded and then went back upstairs. She dug through her closet and found her green dress hanging in the corner. She carefully pulled it out and took it off of the hanger so that she didn't wrinkle it.

The dress was sleeveless and reached down to her knees. Clary didn't like the dress, personally, but her mother said that it complimented her bright green eyes, so she continued to wear it. After she slipped it on, she grabbed a brush, a hair tie, and a small container filled with bobby pins, and went back down stairs.

Her mother was waiting at the dining table for her, staring thoughtfully out the window. "Mum?" Clary said. Jocelyn snapped her attention to Clary. "Well, that was quick," She said, half to herself. "Ok Clare, come and sit down." Jocelyn stood up from the chair she was sitting in. Clary walked over and sat in the same chair, the seat still warm.

Jocelyn set to work on Clary's curly red hair. First she brushed it out so that it was as smooth as silk. Next, she started to French braid it, starting at her left temple and working her way down her head diagonally, so that the braid hung off of Clary's right shoulder. Lastly, she pinned a few loose strands back in place, and she was done. "Alright, Clare, I'm done. Don't run around too much before Luke and Jonathan come, or you'll mess up your hair or wrinkle your dress." Jocelyn instructed. Clary nodded her head.

Jocelyn then went upstairs so that she could get ready. She came back down in a white sundress that went down half way down her calves. Her hair fell freely down her back. She was wearing some clear lip gloss and some eyeliner that made her bright green eyes pop. Clary stared at her mother, her mouth hanging open. "Woah, mom, you look so pretty!" Clary said in awe. Jocelyn's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "Thank you darling. Do you think Luke will-" Jocelyn was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing. "I'll get it!" Clary shouted. She jumped out of the chair and sprinted down the call. Jocelyn sighed, but jogged up behind her daughter, reaching her right before she opened the door.

Clary gasped and hid behind her mother. Jocelyn sighed. "Hi Luke." She said. Luke chuckled and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Hello Jocie." He looked down and the redheaded mass hiding behind his girlfriend. "Hmm, I wonder who _this_ is!" He looked at Jocelyn, a huge smile on his face. Jocelyn mouthed " _One, two, three!"_ To him, and she quickly moved away from the door, Clary's tiny frame remaining. Luke quickly grabbed her up in his arms and tossed her over his shoulder. "Hmmm, Jonathan, have you seen Clary anywhere?" He asked his son mischievously. "Dad, stop being silly, she's right there!" Jonathan said, pointing to the small body hanging off Luke's back. Luke turned around. "Where? I don't see her anywhere!" Clary giggled. "Luke! I'm right here!" Clary beat her fists on Luke's back. Jocelyn laughed. "Alright Luke, I think that's enough." Luke smiled brightly and put her down, and looked at her with a surprised look on his face. "Oh, hi Clary! When did you get here?" Luke said, tugging on the end of her braid. Clary giggled. "Luke, I was here the whole time!" Luke laughed. "If you say so, Clare-Bear."

Jonathan was already down the hall and sitting at the dining room table. He had a fork in his right hand and a knife in his left. "Where's the food, woman, I'm starving!" He was banging his fists on the table. "Jon, be polite." Luke scolded. Jonathan put his hands in his lap and hung his head. "Sorry." He muttered under his breath. "No, no, it's totally fine Jon. Clary, would you mind helping me get the food onto the table?" Jocelyn asked her daughter. Clary smiled. "Okay." She said, walking up to her mother and taking a bowl of mashed potatoes from her hands and setting it on the table. "Here, Clary, I've got the rest." Said Luke. He took the two remaining bowls of food in each of his hands and set them on the table.

Everyone sad down in a chair. Clary sat down beside Jonathan, and Jocelyn beside Luke. "Dig in!" Said Jocelyn.

~oOo~

"Well, Jocie, that was absolutely delicious." Luke said, rubbing his stomach. Jocelyn smiled. "Glad you liked it. How about you, Jon?"

"Umm, I really liked the chicken." Jon said.

"Jon, I didn't make chicken." Jocelyn said, confused.

"Then what's this?" He said, picking up the meat.

"Oh, that's quail, Johnny. It's like chicken, but it's… smaller."

"Well, whatever it's called, it's really good." Jon took another piece of the meat and gobbled it down, spitting out the bones in the process.

"Alright, Jon, I think that's enough for one meal. Why don't you and Clary go outside and play for a bit?" Suggested Luke.

Huge smiles appeared on the faces of the young children. "Okay." They said in unison, jumping out of their chairs and racing to the door. "Clary, Jon, try not to get too dirty, okay?" Jocelyn said. "We won't." Called Clary as she put on a pair of shoes. Jon was already out of the door. "Come on Clary!" "Coming!" Clary raced out of the door behind him, forgetting to shut the door behind her.

Jonathan was nowhere to be seen. "Jon?" Clary called. "Catch me if you can!" Jon peaked his head out from behind a tree. "Jon, I don't wanna run. What if I break my other arm?" Jon sighed and walked out from behind the tree. "Okay. What do you wanna do then?"

"Oooh, I have an idea, how about we ask Alec, Isabelle and Jace to play with us too?" Clary suggested.

"Okay. Come on!" Jon ran to the Lightwood house. Clary reluctantly followed, jogging behind him. Jon waited for Clary to catch up before he rang the doorbell. Alec and Isabelle's mother Maryse opened the door. "Hello there kids. What can I do for you?" Her throat was hoarse, as if she had been shouting. She was wearing a plain white t-shirt with black tights. Her right cheek was red, and there was a… bruise of some sort on her neck. Clary spoke. "Um, Jonathan and I were wondering if Alec and Isabelle could play outside…" Maryse smiled. "I'll ask them. Alec, Isabelle, can you come down please?" The children came down. "Hi Clary… Oh, hello Jonathan." Greeted Alec. Isabelle rushed past her mother and embraced Clary. "Clary! I haven't seen you since before you broke your arm! What happened? Are you okay?" Isabelle bombarded her with questions. Clary giggled, and hugged back with her uninjured arm. "I'm fine now, Izzy. Jace and I were playing, and I tripped and fell on my arm. He went and got his mom, and then _my_ mom drove us to the hospital. I get my cast off next week." Clary moved out of the embrace and smiled brightly at Isabelle.

Alec and Jonathan were standing silently, not really looking at each other. They didn't know what to think of each other. "Jon, Alec, come on, let's go get Jace." Alec's face brightened at the mention of Jace. Jonathan looked at him suspiciously, but said nothing. He trailed behind the rest of the group as they raced to the Herondale house.

They got to the door. Alec rang the doorbell. Jace answered. "Hey guys, what's up?" Jace asked them. "Can you play outside with us?" Asked Clary. Jace smiled. "I think so. Lemme ask my mum." Jace ran away from the door, into the house. He came back a minute later. "She said I can, but we have to stay where she can see me." They all smiled and made way for him to get out of the house.

"Okay, so what should we play?" Asked Jonathan. They all thought for a moment. "Oh, I know! How about we play..." Isabelle paused for dramatic effect. "Hide and go seek!" "Okay. I'll be it!" Said Jonathan. Isabelle whined. "Aww, but _I_ wanted to be it!" "Iz, you can be it next round." Alec said wisely. Even though he was the second oldest in the group at 8 years old, he was definitely the most responsible of all of them.

Isabelle sighed. "Okay." She muttered. Jonathan started counting to 30, and the children ran to hide.

"...28, 29, 30! Ready or not, here I come!"

 **AN:**

 **Hey guys! Sorry for the filler chapter, but I felt really bad for not updating in so long, so I gave you this. I would've made it longer, but I felt that if I dragged it on further, I would've gotten no where. If you guys want some more action in the story, feel free to tell me, and I'll see what I can do!**

 **~Sammy**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter! Thank's so much for your reviews, guys.**

 **Poppy: Glad you like it :)**

 **Guest: I'm glad you like it so far. The stuff in the summary happens when they're in/around high school. This chapter is going to be when the gang are in grade 2, so Clary, Isabelle and maybe some other people are around 7 or 8. Don't worry, that drama-llama stuff from the summary will happen soon :)**

 **CuriousMidnightFantasy: Glad you're enjoying the story so far :D**

 **DeborahWilliams: Thank you so much :) (Lets hope the rest of the story can be great too, lol)**

 **Guest: Thank you 3**

 **imcrazyanditscontagious: *puts hand to heart* Ouch. Thanks for the feedback though. Sorry you didn't like that part. :/**

 **On with the story!**

~oOo~

Clary and Jonathan raced into the school after saying goodbye to Luke. The bell rang moments after they got inside. They walked in awkward silence. Finally, Clary spoke up.

"Hey, Jon?" She asked.

"Ya?" He replied.

"Did you notice that my mom and your dad have been acting funny?"

Jon thought for a moment. "No, not really. What do you mean?"

Clary sighed and ran her hand through her already tangled hair. "I mean, they've been looking at each other all lovey-dovey like, and they kiss a lot more. Plus, mum looks at her hand a lot. Whenever I ask her what she's looking at, she just says that it's nothing and changes the topic."

Jon's eyes widened. "Clary, do you think-" he was cut off by a girl with brown hair hair and bright blue eyes.

"Hi Johnny," The girl fluttered her eyelashes

"Hi, Seelie." Jonathan rolled his eyes.

Clary grabbed Jonathan's hand. The girl, Seelie, looked at her, as if she suddenly noticed that she was there. "Oh, hello Karla." she said dryly. Clary glared at her. "My name is _Clary_ , not Karla." Seelie rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Karla. So Jon-Jon, my birthday party is in two days. Do you wanna come to my birthday party? Maybe you could give me a _special_ present, like maybe… a kiss?" Seelie leaned in closer to Jonathan and puckered her lips. He backed away. "Um, no thanks, Seelie. Hey, um, Clary, why don't we get to class? We don't want to be late on the first day of school." Jonathan begged his sister, tugging her arm. Clary tried hard not to laugh. "Okay. See ya Sarah." Clary walked with her brother, looking over her shoulder and waving at the girl. Seelie clenched her jaw shot daggers at Clary.

They walked in front of Clary's class. "Bye, Jon," She hugged the boy. Jonathan hugged back. "See ya Clare-Bear." He walked away to get to his class. Jonathan was a year older than her, in grade 3.

Clary quickly took off her backpack and changed into her indoor shoes. She walked into the class, where she was greeted by her friends Kaelie and Isabelle. "Hey Clarissa," Kaelie said. Kaelie knew that Clary hated being called by her full name, but she did it anyways. Isabelle smiled at her. "Hey Kaelie, Isabelle." Clary said, sitting down in the seat between her friends. Suddenly, their teacher Mr. Morgenstern started talking. "Hey guys. How was your summer? Good? Good. Okay, now, let's cut to the chase. I'm your new teacher Mr. Morgenstern. You may only call me Mr. Morgenstern. Today, We're going to be starting the day off with some silent reading. Then, we'll have math, science and social studies. Got it? Good." Mr. Morgenstern quickly pulled out a sheet of paper and started barking out the names of the students, not caring if he pronounced them wrong. He paused at Clary's name, but then resumed as normal. When he finished he ordered the students to pull out their books and start reading.

Kaelie raised her hand. "Um, Mr. M?"

Mr. Morgenstern's face ripped towards the young girl. "That's Mister _Morgenstern,_ Kaelie. And what is it?" The man asked sternly.

Kaelie's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "Um, I don't have a book to read. Can I go to the library to go get one?"

Mr. Morgenstern raised his eyebrows. "No, you may not, Kaelie. You should've thought about that before you came to school today." The teacher scolded.

Kaelie raised her eyebrows back at him. "So what do I read then? You can't just have me sit here and not read."

Mr. Morgenstern clenched his jaw, and forced a smile. "Kaelie, you will be reading an article about manners. Also, can you get out your agenda? I'm going to be writing a note to your parents."

"For what? I didn't do anything wrong, Mr. Morgenstern. My parents say that in America, we're allowed to speak our mind. Are you saying that I'm not allowed to talk?" The class gasped, and suddenly the class erupted in whispers. The whispers got louder and louder until the students had to shout in order to be heard

Mr. Morgenstern tried to quiet the class, to no success. Finally, Mr. Morgenstern couldn't take it anymore. "SHUT UP! I DID _NOT_ BECOME A TEACHER SO THAT YOU MISERABLE _BRATS_ COULD TALK BACK TO ME!" He went around the class, and smacked a couple of children upside the head. His parade of craziness was abruptly cut off when another teacher walked in. " _What_ is going on in- Oh my goodness! Valentine! What are you doing? Children, get out of the class. _Now!"_ Clary recognized the teacher as Mr. Blackthorn from her street. He had a couple of kids, 2 or 3 maybe. His oldest daughter was named Helen, but she looked nothing like her mother. In fact, Clary thought that she looked more like the school nurse...

"Clary!" Mr. Blackthorn said, interrupting her thoughts. "Get out of here!" Clary quickly ran out of the class. Or at least, she _tried_ to. Mr. Morgenstern looked at her, an evil grin on his face. " _You_ " he said, walking towards her. "I thought you looked familiar. Those green eyes, that red curly hair. You even have that name she wanted. _Clarissa Fairchild._ You are the spitting image of Jocelyn, you know that?" Clary stifled a gasp and turned around to face the man. "How do you know my mom?" She asked quietly. The man was standing in front of her now. He grabbed her arm. "It doesn't matter _how_ I know her." He hissed. He inched his face closer to hers. He was practically whispering when he said. "You belong to _me,_ Clarissa. I will get you, one way or another. I swear on the Angel I will. Jocelyn will regret the day she left Valentine Morg-" Mr. Morgenstern's villainous rant was cut off by a fist punching the man in the face. His face whipped comically to the left and he fell over. Clary looked towards the direction of the fist, where Mr. Blackthorn was shaking his hand out. "Clary, get out of here. Go to the office. Ask whoever is there to call home. Tell your mother what happened. Get her to sign you and your brother out. Just. Get. Out of here. Understood?" Clary nodded her head and ran to the office.

~oOo~

Jocelyn was driving her children home from school. "So what you're trying to tell me is, your teacher, Mr. Morgenstern went crazy and said that he would get you?" Clary nodded her head. "Mom, how did that man know you?" Jocelyn sighed. "I'll fill you two in when we get home. There's a lot we have to talk about." Jocelyn said. Jonathan was really confused. "What are you two _talking_ about?" "Jonathan Granville Fairchild! I told you we will talk about this when we-" A horn blasted. Jocelyn looked back to the road and tried to swerve their car out of the way, but it was already too late. Screams erupted throughout the car. The other car crashed into their own. Clary watched in horror as the windshield shattered, sending shards of glass flying. One of them hit her mother in the abdomen. Her mother let out a tiny gasp, her hands flying to the wound. Jocelyn's hands were covered in blood. "MOM!" Clary screamed. "Clary, I'm-" Jocelyn coughed, a pained expression on her face. "I'm alright. Get out of here, you two. Jonathan, I'm putting you in charge, alright?" Jocelyn looked at the shard of glass sticking out of her son's cheek. Her breathing was getting shallow. "Go on without me, just get out of here. I'll be fine. I love you two more than anything, alright?" Clary was sobbing. "No, I-I won't leave you mom!" Clary unbuckled her seatbelt and tried to undo the one that was binding her mother. Jocelyn let out a pained laugh. She took her daughter's face in her hands and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Clary." Her eyes fluttered closed, her hands falling away from her daughter's face. "MOM!" Clary screamed. "Clary, come on, we have to get out of here!" Jonathan tugged on his sister's arm. Clary sobbed. "Mom, wake up! Please mommy," "Clary," Jonathan said. Clary looked at her brother and moved away from her mother. "I love you too, mom,"

 **Woo, that was a lot more dramatic than I had originally intended it to be! Hope you liked it :) Oh, before I go, did you guys watch the first two episodes of Shadowhunters yet? Leave a review telling me if you did or not, and your thoughts about the two episodes. Or not, it's really up to you. Anyways, thanks for reading** and following :)

 **~Sammy**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wooo, hey guys, I'm back with the next chapter! Also, holy crap guys! 30 followers! Well, technically 29 cuz one of you guys stopped following the story, but whatever, you can't please everyone :) But 16 favourites! Thank you so much you guys! Also, just so you know, most of this chapter takes place in a hospital. Disclaimer, I know nothing about hospitals. I've only been in one once, and it was only because my dad had to have a surgery. So if any of this stuff in inaccurate, sorry about that. :/ Anyways, enjoy the story!**

 **Guest: I totally agree with you. Something I was confused about was the large number of shadowhunters in the Institute. Also, the way they drew runes. But other than that, I thought the first two episodes were pretty good. Is it weird that I already have the biggest crush on Jace?**

 **Page1of365: Glad you liked it :). Here's the next chapter.**

 **Debra Williams: Haha, I guess he is. This isn't the end of the dirty bum, though. :)**

 **On with the story!**

Clary woke in a hospital, various wires coming out of her arms. She tentatively raised her arm. Suddenly, a nurse with brown hair in a tight bun came in the room, a clipboard in her hands. She was scribbling something down. She looked up and saw that she was awake. The nurse smiled. "Oh, hello there. My name is Sophie. I just came to check in on you. How are you feeling?" Sophie asked her.

Clary hesitated before answering "Fine."

Sophie let out a small sigh. "I'll be right back, there's someone who I think will want to see you." Sophie smiled at her and walked out of the room. She returned a minute later, behind her was a familiar man.

"Luke!" She cried. She tried to get out of the bed to go and hug the man, but found herself restrained by the wires in her arms. Despite himself, Luke laughed. "Woah there, Clary, I'm not going anywhere." He walked up to the girl's bed and gently pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. Clary hesitated for a moment before hugging the man back. Suddenly, she giggled. Luke pulled away and looked at her strangely.

"What?" He asked her. "My arm feels funny." Sophie stifled a laugh behind them. Luke looked behind him. "Clary, you remember Sophie, right?" Clary shook her head. "Sophie is one of your mother's cousins." Clary thought for a moment, trying to remember the woman. "I'm sorry. I don't remember you. Wait. Where is mom? And Jon? Is mom okay?" Tears threatened to spill from Clary's eyes. Luke looked behind him, giving Sophie a look. Sophie nodded her head slightly.

Luke sighed. "Jon is totally fine, he woke up a few minutes ago as well He's just a couple of rooms down. He just got a couple of stitches for his cheek. As for you, Clary, you're totally fine. You two can leave the hospital in a couple of hours." Luke said. Clary sighed impatiently. "Okay, but what about _mom_?" She pressed. Luke bit his lip and ran his hand through his hair. "Clary, your mother… she isn't dead. That's the good news. The bad news is, she's in something called a coma. It's like a really long nap." Clary released a sigh of relief. Her mother was alive. She smiled. "Okay. When will she wake up?" She asked the man. Luke hesitated before answering. "Soon." He said unsurely. Thankfully, Clary didn't notice and smiled even wider, hugging Luke again. Luke laughed sadly and hugged the girl back tightly, playing with the bright red hair she inherited from her mother. _What if she doesn't wake up?_ He thought to himself. Luke loved Clary's mother more than anything. He didn't know what he would do without her.

~oOo~

Luke didn't leave Clary's side until she fell asleep 15 minutes later. He walked out of the room, Sophie following close behind. She quietly closed the door behind them. Luke immediately sat down in one of the chairs stations outside the door. He rested his face in his hands and let out a long sigh. He then looked up at the nurse. "Sophie, can you tell me the specifics about Jocelyn?" The nurse frowned. I'll have to get the doctor. I'll be right back." And she was gone.

She came back a minute later. _Good god, that woman is fast._ Luke thought. And with that, the nurse was off again, probably off to help a patient.

He stood up to shake the doctor's hand. "Hi, I'm Doctor Loss, but you can just call me Caterina. How may I help you?"

"Hi. I'm Luke Garroway, Jocelyn Fairchild's fiance…"

"Oh, yes! Jocelyn. I'm assuming you wanted to know how she was doing currently?" Luke nodded his head. "She's currently stable. We performed a surgery on her to remove the shard of glass. It lodged itself into her large intestine. There wasn't much damage, so we had no problem there. We simply stitched it up, and should heal completely in a couple of weeks. However, she lost a lot of blood on the way here, which is why she's in a coma."

"Do you think if she found a blood donor she would wake up faster?" Luke asked her.

The woman thought for a moment. "Sadly, it doesn't work like that. She was going to need a donor anyway, with the amount of blood that she lost." Luke's face fell. Caterina regretted being so blunt.

"But you have no need to worry," She quickly added."People usually wake up from comas after a couple of weeks."

Luke let out a sigh of relief. A couple of weeks was better than never. Another nurse suddenly walked up to the doctor, tapping her on the shoulder. Caterina turned around, and the nurse quickly whispered something into her ear. Caterina nodded. "I'm awfully sorry, Mister Garroway, but one of my patients needs me. It was nice meeting you." Luke smiled. "Likewise." He said before the doctor rushed away.

The nurse who stood behind them suddenly moved closer to Luke. He looked her up and down. She had bleached blond hair, and bright blue contacts. Her shirt was slightly unbuttoned, revealing some of her cleavage. Luke rolled his eyes. "Why hello there, sir." She purred into his ear. Luke shuddered and moved away. "Um, hello there," He read her name tag. "Bambi. Can I help you?" The woman licked her bright red lips and ran a hand down Luke's arm. "No, but I can help _you,_ " She whispered. "Um, I'm really sorry, but I have to go to the…" Luke searched his mind for an excuse. "Washroom! Yes, I really have to get to the washroom because I have… very… explosive diarrhea?" He patted her shoulder and speed walked away from the bimbo. "Ugh, _rude_!" He heard her call. Luke stifled a laugh and rushed to the room his son was in.

He was practically running when he reached his son's room. Jon was looking at him with a confused look on his face. "Oh, hi Jon."

"Why were you running?" Jon asked him.

"No reason." Luke quickly said.

Jonathan looked at him suspiciously, but didn't press him further. "So, how're Clary and Jocelyn?" He asked, sitting up in his bed.

Luke sighed. "Clary's fine, she's just a couple of rooms down. Jocelyn, however… is in a coma."

Jonathan looked at his father blankly. "Wassat?" He asked.

"Jon, a coma is like a really long nap. But sometimes, people don't wake up from comas."

Jonathan looked down. "Oh."

"Jonathan, you have to promise that you won't tell Clary. Got it?" Jonathan looked up at his father, his green eyes wide.

"Why not?"

"Because I told Clary that Jocelyn would be waking up soon, but honestly, I have no idea when she'll wake up. One of the doctors, Doctor Catarina said that she might wake up in a few weeks, but I can't be sure." Luke swallowed a lump in his throat. "I don't want to put any more stress on your sister."

Jon looked at his father, confusion clouding his face. "Sister? Clary isn't my sister."

Luke mentally kicked himself. "I mean-"

"Clary was right! You two _are_ getting married!" Jon grinned widely.

"We were gonna tell you two sooner, but with the accident…" Luke trailed off.

Jonathan's smile faltered. "It's okay, dad. Really, I'm sure Clary was really happy when you told her. Wait, you did tell her, right?"

"No, not yet. I had wanted to tell you two about our engagement with Jocelyn. Or should I say, mom."

Jonathan groaned. "Am I really gonna have to call her that from now on?"

Luke smiled cheekily. "Yes."

~oOo~

Just as Luke promised, the children were checked out of the hospital an hour later. As Luke was driving them home, Clary asked, "Luke, how come mom isn't coming home with us? She's only napping, right?"

Luke bit his lip and looked at Jonathan's reflection in the rear view mirror. "Not yet Clare. She's gonna stay in the hospital until she wakes up, and then she can come home."

"Why?" Clary asked.

Luke stopped at a red light. "Because the doctors there need to take care of her while she sleeps."

"Why can't we take care of her?"

"Because we're not doctors."

"Why aren't we doctors?"

Luke sighed. " _Clary,_ " He warned.

Clary pouted. "Sorry." She slid lower into the seat and crossed her arms over her chest. Luke chuckled and waited for the light to change to green.

~oOo~

Luke pulled up onto the driveway. "Dad, are we gonna stay here tonight?" Jonathan asked his father.

"We're going to be staying here for a while, Jon. In fact… we're going to be moving into Clary's house full time from now on."

The childrens' eyes widened. "Are you serious? Clary, we're gonna be roommates!" Jon said, grinning from ear to ear.

The children hopped out of the car and ran to the door. "Luke, does that mean that Jon and I are gonna share a room now?" Luke shook his head.

"Calm down, Clary. We'll decide all of this once your mom comes home. But yes, for now, you and Jon will be sharing a room."

Clary crossed her arms. "Fine." She grumbled.

~oOo~

Clary had changed out of the hospital gown she had been wearing and put on a pair of white shorts that reached her knees and a T-shirt with the _Hey Arnold_ cast on it. She brushed her hair and ran downstairs for a snack to find Luke on the phone.

"No, the children will not be coming to school for a few weeks." He waited for the reply. "No, they're not sick, but as they were in such a life changing accident, I want them to stay home and relax for a while. Clary's mother isn't here either, so…" Luke smiled sadly at the reply. "They're taking it well, honestly. I don't know how the little one will cope with her mother being gone, though… Alright. Thanks for the understanding. Have a nice day. Bye." Luke hung up. Luke sighed and sat down on the couch, putting his face in his hands.

"Luke?" Clary said. Luke looked up.

"Oh, hello Clary. What's up?"

"I'm just getting a snack. Who were you talking to?" She asked him.

"I was just talking to your school. You and Jon aren't gonna go to school until your mother comes home. Okay?"

Clary beamed. "Okay. I'll go tell Jon."

She turned around to race back upstairs when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Clary yelled. She heard Luke following her to the door, so she wasted no time in opening the door. Celine and Jace stood at the doorway, a bouquet in Celine's arms, a gift basket in Jace's. Jace immediately dropped the basket and pounced on Clary. "Clary!" He said, taking in her familiar smell of strawberries. "You're okay! When Luke called my mom and told me that you were in a car crash, I thought you died. But then she told me that you and Jon were okay. But your mom is in a coma, and she might not wake up, but that could've been you, and if it was, I'd never see you again, and if I never saw you again, I don't know what I would do, because I lo-, because you're my best friend, Clary." Clary hugged him back tightly "You're my best friend, too, Jace. I'll never leave you. Never ever."

 **So, how do you guys feel about Jocelyn going into a coma? Do you guys think she'll wake up? Or, how about Jace almost telling Clary he loved her? Don't forget to leave a review. Love you guys!**

 **~Sammy**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter! I just wanna thank you guys for following, reviewing, and favouriting! Love you guys! By the way, the time period for this chapter is around 1999. I'm trying to stay with their actual ages, (Clary, Jace Isabelle, and some other characters were born in 1991) so if I ever make a 100% current chapter set in 2016, Clary, Jace and everyone else will be around 24.**

 **HeronFray104: I'm glad you love it :) Thanks for reviewing. 3**

 **Shauna: I'm glad you love it:) Also, technically, yes, Clary and Jonathan are actually siblings. Just not in my story. I made them step siblings so that we could get to see them adapt to each other, and see Jon grow more of a character. I don't know, that's just my mentality. And as for Valentine, you'll just have to keep reading to find out. He'll be back!**

 **Lily: As completely adorable as that is, I already have plans for the star crossed lovers. Ones that everyone will probably hate, but I feel like I have to put it into the story. Thanks for reviewing :)**

 **Debra Williams: I'm glad you liked that bit. Your theory is a good one, however, it's validity, I can not confirm…**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the Mortal Instruments, Cassandra Clare does. Please don't sue me.**

 **Oh, also, I have no idea how the medical system works in America... I'm Canadian, (which is why I spell favourite and many other words with an extra 'U'.) and in Canada, as you probably know, we have free healthcare… so ya. Before I go, I would suggest listening to "Remedy" and "Sweetest Devotion" both by Adele. They really set the mood of this chapter.**

 **On with the story!**

~oOo~

Two months had passed, and Jocelyn still hadn't woken up. Clary and Jonathan hadn't been to school at all over that span, so Luke had taken it upon himself to home school them. He had gotten extra workers to take care of his bookstore. As for Jocelyn's medical bills, they were taken care of. The man who had crashed his car into Jocelyn's was a drunk driver, so it was entirely his fault. Jocelyn had been driving perfectly, she had stayed in her lane, and was within the speed limit. The drunk driver, however, a guy named Abaddon, had swerved his car onto the wrong side of the road, and came out of the accident completely uninjured. The guy was rich as well, so he had this amazingly expensive car. He probably didn't even care that his car was ruined. He could just buy another one.

Luke had taken the man to court, and won. The jury had decided that Abaddon had to pay for all of Jocelyn's medical bills until she was completely healthy again. Life was perfect. Except for the fact that Jocelyn still hadn't woken up.

The family went to visit her every Saturday, staying for as long as they could. They were currently getting ready to visit her again.

"Jon, have you seen my pencil crayons?" Clary called from her room.

"They should be on my desk." He called back.

Clary frowned. "Why did you have my pencil crayons?"

"Because I was using them!"

"But you didn't even ask to use them!" Clary huffed, walking into her step-brother-to-be's room.

Jonathan sighed. "Sorry." He muttered before handing her the box of pencil crayons.

Clary rolled her eyes. "Just ask to use them next time." And with that, she walked out of the room.

Jonathan had packed his game boy and a book into the bag he was taking with him to the hospital. The book was called Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It was recently published, about a boy who found out that he was a wizard… Jocelyn had introduced to book to him, she had given it to him for his birthday. He had already read it twice. Jonathan had started reading the story to his step-mother-to-be. He hoped that she could hear him reading in her sleep. Recently, she had started moving while he read, sometimes muttering things under her breath, moving her eyes. Once, her eyes had opened completely, scaring the living daylights out of him. He had immediately called his father, who had burst into tears of joy.

Jocelyn was waking up.

~oOo~

Clary was scared of driving, and of cars in general. She didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified of anything that had to do with cars. She didn't want to be anywhere near a car. She didn't want to look at a car. She didn't even want to _think_ of a car. But she did anyways. She was going to be strong. For her mother.

So when it was time to get into the car to go to the hospital, Clary didn't cry. She didn't whine, she didn't beg Luke to stay behind. She raised her head high and stepped into the family car to drive to the hospital.

And with every trip in the car, driving became less scary, until she didn't even wince when she saw a car. She knew that it wasn't the car's fault that her mother wasn't waking up. It was the other driver's fault.

Every visit to her mother, Clary would tell her about the ups and downs of her week. It was nice to finally have someone who would listen to her. Luke had been so busy with his bookstore and the trial that he barely paid attention to his kids. The only time when he really sat down to talk to them was when he was teaching them. Sure, she had her friends, and sure, she had Jon, but it just wasn't the same. She and Jocelyn were practically inseparable. When Clary found out that she might not wake up, she had been devastated, not leaving her room and looking through her mother's sketches for a whole week. She only came out to eat and visit her mother. The only reason she had come out of her funk was because her mother was waking up.

Her mother was waking up.

~oOo~

They finally reached the hospital. Clary immediately pulled out her sketchbook and started drawing. Jonathan pulled out his gameboy and started playing. Luke, Clary, and Jonathan each got an hour with Jocelyn. After each of their turns were up, they would spend the rest of the visiting hours together and then buy ice cream.

It was currently Luke's turn with Jocelyn. Neither of the children knew how he spent it. But he always came out of the room with a distant look on his face. "Your turn, Jonathan."

Clary and Luke both made themselves busy while Jonathan read to the comatose woman. Once his turn was up, he walked out of the room, signalling for Clary to walk in.

Clary took in a deep breath. The air smelled very clean. Clary personally didn't like the smell, but she didn't complain.

She walked into her mother's room, the familiar beeping of her mother's heart monitor welcoming her. Clary sat down a chair that was next to her mother's head. The seat was still warm, indicating Jonathan had sat in the same area as she had.

Clary smiled sadly and spoke to her mother, releasing all of her pent up feelings.

"Hey mom. How's it going? I mean, other than the fact that you're in a coma. I miss you, you know. I miss having you around at home. For some reason, it's really lonely. I don't know why, though, I mean, I've got Jon and Luke, and sometimes Jace and the Lightwoods come over to play, but it just isn't the same without you. I mean, before you and Luke started dating, it was always just us. Remember our little picnics in the park? I would always chase the birds. Especially any seagulls that tried to steal our food. I would run and run until I could barely move. And how we used to draw together for hours on end? You would always teach me new techniques. I would do my best to impress you. But now that you're stuck in this hospital, we can't do that anymore. I'm always stuck at home, bored out of my mind. It's not all bad, though. I don't have to go to school until you wake up. Luke is homeschooling us. He's getting worksheets from the teachers at our school to help. And since I'm home all the time, I have more time to draw. Guess what I draw, mum? I draw everything I can, just like you told me to. Jonathan doesn't care much for my art, but Luke tries to encourage me whenever he can. He misses you too. Mom, are you gonna marry him? You should. Luke would be an awesome dad. Not that I know what an awesome dad is like, but… ya. Please wake up mom. I know that you've been starting to wake up, Luke says that once a person in a coma starts to open their eyes and mutter stuff, they've started to wake up, and once they've started to listen to basic commands like 'squeeze my hand', it means that they'll wake up really soon. But you still don't listen to basic commands. You just move around sometimes, and once you even opened your eyes completely. But I wasn't even there to see it. So please, mom, wake up, or at least open your eyes, or blink, or squeeze my arm. Just do something. Please mom. For me."

Clary grabbed her mother's hand and waited. A minute later, she felt a soft squeeze. Clary gasped. "Do it again." She said softly. And Jocelyn squeezed again, the action more forcefull this time. Jocelyn's eyes fluttered, as if she was struggling to open them. Clary felt a tear run down her cheek. "Come on, mom, you can do it," Clary urged. Jocelyn moaned. Her eyes opened, staring blankly to the sealing. Clary breathed in sharply. "Mom, are you awake? Can you hear me? Blink if you are!" Clary prayed her mother would blink. _Please blink, please blink, please blink._ Her mother's heart was beating faster and faster. A nurse would probably be coming soon to check on her. Clary didn't want that. She wanted to witness her mother wake up by herself.

Clary patiently waited, no, _hoped_ that her mother would blink, or give some sort of indicator that she was aware of what was going on around her.

Jocelyn didn't blink. Oh no, she did something much better than that. She spoke.

" _Clary."_

 **Alright, that's the end of the chapter, hope you liked it. In all honestly, this was kind of a filler chapter, but i just couldn't leave Jocelyn in a coma, so I decided to wake her up. I don't plan on doing any chapters going over her healing process, but maybe if you guys convince me, I might do a chapter with the family of four adjusting to life with Jocelyn again. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to review :) Love you guys 3**

 **~Sammy**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Thank you guys so much for the reviews. It seriously means so much to me. I love you guys 3 And I'm really sorry for the late update. Over a week?! I'm sorry. I've been watching Doctor Who, I'm only on the third season. Please don't spoil!**

 **Lilacian: Thank you :) I'm glad you like it.**

 **Ruby9017: I'm glad I got you excited. Yes, Jocelyn is officially awake. However, in a few chapters, you guys might wish she stayed asleep…**

 **Shauna: I'm sorry for leaving on a cliffhanger. I didn't mean it. Here's the next chapter :)**

 **imcrazyanditscontagious: I made you cry! Oh my god thats' freaking amazing. I made you...** _ **feel!**_ **That's so… ugh! I probably sound really weird, but it means so much to me that I made you feel something with a bunch of words that came from my head. 3**

 **HeronFray104: Thank you! That's so amazing to hear. c: Here's the next update. Thank's for reviewing :)**

 **Thalia Michele: Yay! I'm glad you love it :) Here's the next update c:**

 **Guest: I'm glad you like my story. To answer your question, patience, my young grasshopper. They're only kids right now. The chapters with them as teens will be coming soon (most drama happens in their teens…). This is (hopefully) gonna be one of those longer fics, soooo (see what I did there?) Thanks for reviewing**

 **Debra Williams: Thank you so much 3 Inspiration is a strong thing. I'm so happy I inspired you. Don't worry, Jace hasn't disappeared. I love Jace too much to leave him out for too long. Love Jocelyn while you can...**

 **I guess I'm doing that thing where I suggest a song to listen to while you're reading this, so this chapter, I'm suggesting "Just One Yesterday" By Fall Out Boy ft. Foxes and "The Death of a Bachelor" By Panic! At The Disco.**

 **On with the story!**

Jocelyn and Luke were planning their wedding. They were supposed to get married the previous year, but with Jocelyn's car accident…

But the past was in the past. The family had moved past the horrendous accident that left Jocelyn in a coma for two months, and then left her in a wheelchair for another month. Jocelyn had endured months of physio therapy to redevelop her motor skills. Abaddon, the man who had crashed his car into hers, had to pay for every penny of it. He definitely wasn't amused.

After Jocelyn was deemed 100% healthy, he stayed out of the lives of the family of four. Not that they were complaining, of course.

The family had planned for the wedding to be in 2 weeks, so Jocelyn was currently freaking out.

"Luke, have you heard from the ring maker yet?" Jocelyn called from the kitchen, tasting a variety of different foods the caterer had brought to their house.

"He's coming over in an hour. Are your designs ready? Where's your sketch book?" He asked his wife, looking for her sketch book.

"They're ready. The sketchbook is on the… second shelf!" Jocelyn called back. Luke grabbed the sketchbook.

"Thanks!"

Clary and Jonathan were outside, though they knew that they should be practicing their roles as ring bearer and flower girl. But it was no fun just walking up and down their hallway, Clary throwing flowers behind her, and Jonathan carrying the rings on a pillow.

Jocelyn didn't know why, but it aggravated her that her children weren't completely devoted to her wedding. It was supposed to be her special day. She never been married before, not even with Clary's father, who had left her as soon as he found out Jocelyn was pregnant.

" _It's you and me against the world." He had told her. Every night, he would say the exact same words before they went to sleep. Jocelyn hated to admit that she had fallen for his charms, for his amazingly good looks, his kindness, his sympathy, everything that Jocelyn ever wanted in the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with. But Jocelyn had fallen in love with a man who didn't exist._

 _As soon as Jocelyn had told her ex lover that she was pregnant, he threatened her. He threatened that if Jocelyn didn't get an abortion, he would leave her, and do much worse. Jocelyn didn't know what to do. She definitely didn't want to abort the child. Whatever it was, it was_ alive _. Jocelyn didn't even want to think about killing such a tiny, helpless thing that she had created. She promised herself that she would never let anything happen to it. So she told him that she wasn't going to abort the child. And with a face blank of emotion, he kicked her out of his house. "Get out." He said, his words laced with venom._

" _W-what?" She had said. He couldn't be serious. Could he?_

" _GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!" He shouted at her. Jocelyn whimpered, running into her room and packing all of the essentials, her passport, her driver's license, some clothes, some money, and some food and water. Once she finished tucking the things into the small carry on she kept in her room in case of emergencies, she fled, grabbing her most durable shoes, a thick sweater, and a ring that had been in her family for generations, along with something called a 'stele', which had also been a family heirloom. Jocelyn had never figured out what it was for._

 _The man who she thought loved her to no end was nowhere to be seen. Jocelyn let out a sigh of relief and ran. Ran to the one place she knew she would be accepted, no questions asked._

But as Jocelyn's mother had always said, 'The past is nothing but a memory. The future just memories to be made." Jocelyn didn't want to dwell on the painful memories of the past, couldn't let herself feel any remorse for what was. She was madly in love with Luke, and if she hadn't left _him_ , she never would've realised her love for the man whose heart was destined for her's.

~oOo~

"Hey mum," Jocelyn said into the phone.

"Hello Jocelyn, how's the wedding planning going?" Asked her mother Adele.

Jocelyn groaned. "It's exhausting. We've got it all planned out, but the kids aren't really cooperating. Clary and Jon don't want to practice at all."

Adele laughed on the other line. "Joce, they're only children. You can't expect them to want to practice twenty four seven. You know, that reminds me of a certain young girl who never wanted to sit down and practice the piano…"

"I didn't even _like_ piano, mum! You can't blame me!"

"And the children probably don't like practicing walking up and down a hallway. When _is_ the wedding, two weeks away, right?"

Jocelyn bit the inside of her cheek. "Mmmhmm. You and dad _are_ coming, right? It just wouldn't be the same without you."

"Don't you worry your dainty little feet. We're coming, nothing could stop us!"

Jocelyn rolled her eyes. "When did you get so corny?" Jocelyn asked her mother.

"The moment you came home with your first boyfriend. What was his name again… ah! I remember, it was Phillip! He was a looker. But by the Angel, he was _not_ the kind of boy I wanted around my only daughter! Always talking back, not listening to orders, slacking off, just not a good character in general. I bet he wasn't even good in bed." Said her mother, half to herself.

Jocelyn groaned. "Mum!"

Her mother laughed. "I'm only messing with you. Mostly. But anyways, have you chosen your bridesmaids yet?"

Jocelyn thought for a second. "Luke and I have decided to make Celine Herondale my maid of honor, and Luke's sister Amatis, Maryse Lightwood and cousin Sophie the bridesmaids. Oh an you, of course! The groomsmen are going to be some of Luke's friends and dad, and his man of honor is going to be his friend Alaric."

Adele nodded in approval. "Sounds like a plan. Oh dear, I've got to go, your father's tuna casserole is burning! Bye, darling!"

Before she could respond, Jocelyn heard the phone click, and the line went dead. She sighed. She put the phone down and rested her face in her hands. Her mother could be so… aggravating! Jocelyn was feeling very aggravated lately. The smallest things would set her off, and she had a hard time controlling it.

And she knew it wasn't fair, but she had started letting her anger out on her children, yelling at them if they didn't listen to her, or if they did anything that might annoy her. The rest of the family didn't let it bother them, though it could become taxing at times.

The only person who could get her to calm down was Luke. He would make her a cup of green mint tea and then hand her her sketchbook and her favourite pencil. Then he would sit next to her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder while he rubbed her back, murmuring reassuring words into her ear as she sketched. Sketched and sketched until her hands were sore.

~oOo~

Wedding day. It was finally here. The family was at the Church, Jocelyn putting her final touches on her makeup, Luke patiently waiting at the altar for his wife to be to walk down. Clary and Jonathan were talking amongst themselves, nervous that they might mess up their roles.

"How do you mess up throwing flower petals?" Asked Jonathan.

Clary shrugged. "I dunno, maybe I'll throw them too hard and I'll hit someone in the eye."

Jonathan looked at her skeptically. "I doubt that. At least _you're_ not carrying the rings down the aisle. I might trip and fall! Like in that episode of Arthur where Arthur trips and-" Jonathan was cut off.

"And the ring goes flying into the organ. I know, Jon. That won't happen though, don't worry. Everything is exaggerated on T.V."

Jonathan crossed his arms over his chest. "Whatever." He muttered.

Suddenly the organ music started playing. That was their cue. Jonathan plastered a fake smile onto his face. " _Good luck!"_ He whispered to Clary. " _You too!"_ Clary whispered back, doing the same.

Jonathan walked out onto the aisle, Clary beside him. They walked in time with the organ music. Suddenly, everyone stood up. The bride had arrived.

A huge smile broke onto Luke's well groomed face. Jocelyn looked beautiful. _No,_ he thought. _She looks perfect._ She was wearing a long strapless dress that flowed down to her feet. The dress complimented her curvy figure. The top half was speckled with golden sequins that shimmered in the light. The sequins rained down onto the lower half, creating intricate designs, stopping around where her knees might be. Her bright red hair was toppled elegantly on her head, a few ringlets framing her face, a white rose placed above her left ear. She wore a golden chain on her neck, the pendant a rune, the rune of love. Luke had given the necklace to her on her birthday the previous year. Her lips were tinted red, her cheeks slightly pink. Her bright green eyes sparkled. They were lined with a black eyeliner her eyelashes were long and thick, making her eyes pop. Her eyelids were dusted with gold, complementing the dress she wore.

Jocelyn bit her lip nervously as she walked down the aisle, a bouquet of white roses in her hands. In front of her walked the two children she cared the most about in the world. They reached the end of the aisle, each going to stand on their predetermined areas, Clary with the maid of honor and the bridesmaids, and Jon with the man on honor and the groomsmen. Luke stood at the end of the aisle, his hands limp at his sides. Jocelyn saw Alaric pat him on the back, which made Luke smile even wider than he already was, if that was possible. She took her time as she walked, savouring this moment.

Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the love of her life. Luke's hair was combed slightly, his usually thick beard was now stubble that dusted his face. His blue eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. He wore a simple black tuxedo with a black tie. He had a white napkin in a pocket on the jacket.

But she didn't care about that. She just cared that they were getting married. _Married_.

The priest started his speech, but Luke and Jocelyn paid no attention to it. They grabbed each other's hands, writing words onto the other's hand as a way to communicate.

' _You look gorgeous'_ wrote Luke.

Jocelyn blushed. ' _Thank you. You look amazing as well, but I miss your beard.'_

Luke stifled a laugh. ' _Really? Your mother told me to shave it. She said I looked like a werewolf.'_

' _I'm not denying that.'_

' _Ouch.'_

Jocelyn bit her lip. ' _Te ex animo amo'_

Luke gave her a confused look. ' _What?'_ He wrote.

' _I love you with all my heart.'_

"Luke Garroway, do you take Jocelyn Fairchild to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Asked the priest.

"I do." Said Luke, his face filled with love.

"And do you, Jocelyn Fairchild, take Luke Garroway to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Jocelyn nodded her head eagerly. "I do." She said, tears of joy threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Then with the power invested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride!"

Luke pulled Jocelyn's face towards his and kissed her. Jocelyn saw fireworks going off behind her eyes. And just when she thought it couldn't get any better, Luke spoke against her lips.

" _Te ex animo amo."_

I love you with all my heart.

 **Gah! Finished! Again, I'm so sorry for the extremely late update! And thank you guys so much for all of the favourites and follows and updates. They mean the world to me 3. Oh, I forgot to say, I've never been to a wedding before (I** _ **almost**_ **went to one, but my mom came down with the stomach flu, so we couldn't go :/) so sorry if I got anything wrong. Anyways, don't forget to review. Love you guys!**

 **~Sammy**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter. It takes place after the wedding and Jocelyn and Luke's honeymoon. (This doesn't really matter, but they went to Barbados and left Clary and Jon at home with Jocelyn's parents.)**

 **Again, thank you so much for the follows, faves and reviews (Even if only 2 of you guys reviewed on the last chapter.) But guys, we hit 50 followers! 50! Holy crap guys, that's amazing! Thank you all so much.**

 **Guest: I'm glad you liked it :) And to answer your question, yes, he will be back. He plays a role in the story, though not a huge part. (If I don't ever put this in the story, Val went to jail for hitting all the kids on the head in the previous chapter)**

 **Debra Williams: Yay! Thank you so much! I was kinda scared i did horribly, but I guess not, seeing as you liked it. To answer your question, it wasn't the coma that made her unsettled, but more the accident itself. I was planning on giving it an explanation, but it wouldn't make much sense to the story if I did. The explanation I was planning on giving was that she got PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from the accident, which gave her anger issues. The problem with this, though, is in order for this diagnosis to be made, she'd have to go to the doctor for behavioral problems, and the doctor would have to prescribe her some medicine for it. But that would create some problems with some of the things I'd like to add to my story, so I've decided to cut it out.**

 **For this chapter, I'm suggesting you guys listen to "Young Blood" By Bea Miller, and "Perfect" By Hedley.**

 **On with the story!**

"Hey mom! We're home!" She and Jonathan had just come home from school. "I'm in the drawing room!" Jocelyn called back. Clary and Jon took their backpacks off and headed to the drawing room. Jocelyn was painting something, but she couldn't tell what, as there was barely any paint on the canvas.

"Whatcha painting?" Asked Jonathan. Jocelyn looked up from the painting. "A man named Jonathan Shadowhunter. You know that new school that's opening in a week?" The children nodded their heads. "Ya, this is the guy they named the school after. I got commissioned to do a painting. It'll go right above the office doors."

The children's jaws dropped. "No way. That's awesome! What was he famous for?" Asked Clary.

"He was part of a group called the Shadowhunters, of which he was the founding leader. They went around keeping our little city safe from a rebel group called the Demons, who were this horrible terrorist group. Basically, Jonathan Shadowhunter saved our town."

"Oh." Said Clary. "Why does he have wings?" She asked, pointing to the canvas.

Jocelyn's eyes widened. "Shoot! I didn't even notice. Now I've got to start it all over. Go away, you two distracted me. I've got to restart." Jocelyn said, suddenly angry.

The children pouted and started to walk out of the room. "Wait, mum, um I have a project in school where I have to learn about my family so I was wondering if you could help me." Clary said to Jocelyn.

"Go ask Luke," Jocelyn said, waving Clary off.

"But I already know about Luke's family. I need to _learn_ something, mom, and I don't really know anything about your family." Clary said in a small voice.

Jocelyn huffed in annoyance. " _Fine_. Just let me clean up."

~oOo~

Clary and Jocelyn were sitting on the couch, looking through some of Jocelyn's old photo albums. "This is me at age 5." She said, pointing at a younger version of herself. She had her curly red hair in pigtails. Her face was covered in dirt, a toothy grin on her face. She was missing one of her front teeth. In her hands was a drawing of three figures holding hands, one with curly red hair to match her own, and the other with short brown hair. They were standing around a shorter figure. Clary assumed that was Jocelyn. Jocelyn had her short red hair out in the drawing, and the face drawn to match the faces of her parents; two dots for the eyes and a semicircle for the smile.

Clary smiled at the picture. "You were so cute. Why was your face so dirty?" Asked Clary.

"How am I supposed to remember?" Snapped Jocelyn. "That was almost three decades ago."

Jocelyn flipped the page, turning to another photo of a younger version of herself. She told Clary about it, but Clary wasn't paying attention. She was too busy mentally scolding herself for asking her mother too many questions.

Suddenly, Jocelyn flipped to a page with a much older version of herself. She looked around 20, and was in the arms of a handsome man with pale blond hair, and eyes so dark Clary thought they were black.

Clary gasped. "Mum, why are you with Mr. Morgenstern?" Clary asked.

Jocelyn ignored her. "This was me two years befor you were born."

" _Mum._ "

Jocelyn looked up at her daughter. "Yes?"

" _Why are you with Mr. Morgenstern?_ "

Jocelyn bit her lip. "That's a story for another day, Clarissa."

Clary let out a frustrated breath. "No mom, it isn't. You've kept this from me for four whole years! It's fine that you didn't tell me when I was eight. It's fine that you didn't tell me when I was nine, or ten, or eleven, but I'm twelve now, mum. I'm almost a _teenager_! You can't keep this from me anymore!"

"You know what? Fine. If you want to know so bad, here it is, Clary. I was with him because that man, Valentine Morgenstern is your _father_. Happy now?" Yelled Jocelyn.

Clary gasped. "That man is my _father_? He threatened to take me from you. Did you know that?" She asked softly.

Jocelyn laughed darkly. "Well maybe I should let him have you. You're not grateful for anything, you don't listen to me, you're rude, and you drive me crazy! I don't need a daughter like that." There was no regret in her words

Tears threatened to fall from Clary's eyes. She got up and ran out the front door.

"Clary, wait!" Called Jocelyn.

But it was too late, the damage was done.

~oOo~

Clary was sitting on the park bench. The park was in a secluded area, no one would be able to hear her crying. Trees surrounded her, whistling as wind blew through the leaves.

Clary curled up into a ball. Of course Jocelyn hated her, she had every right to. Everything she had said about her was true. Clary was useless. She didn't help her mother around the house, she spoke back to her mother, she took everything for granted. She was a horrible daughter. Jocelyn hadn't done anything to deserve such a horrible daughter.

She tried so hard to impress her mother, but never succeeded. When she came home with 85% on a math test, Jocelyn would yell at her for not getting 90%. When she came home with 90%, she would yell at her for not getting 95%. If she ever got 100% on a test, she would yell at her for not getting 100% on all of her tests. Whenever she showed her mother a painting she had been working on for hours, Jocelyn would pick at any small mistakes she could find. She wasn't trying hard enough. She simply wasn't _enough_.

Jocelyn's anger had gotten worse over the years. She had been complaining about her to Luke for years now, asking him to find a way for her to make Clary more obedient. A better daughter, really. Luke would always respond the same way. "Clary is perfect just the way she is, stop trying to change that." Clary was grateful to have a step-father like him. But not as grateful as she should be.

And it wasn't like Jocelyn picked at her step brother as well, either. Only Clary was hated. Not that Clary blamed her. Clary was horrible. She didn't even deserve to have half of the things she did. She didn't deserve the roof over her head, or the food she ate. Especially not the food she ate. All she was doing was getting fatter and fatter. All of the food Luke and Jocelyn made was going down the drain because of her.

Maybe if she stopped eating-

Suddenly, she heard a stick break. It was as if she was in a movie. She looked up, with tears running down her face and sniffled. "Who's there?" She called out half-heartedly.

And out from behind a couple of bushes came her golden boy, Jace.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Clary, plopping her head back into her lap.

"I saw you run out of your house. I was gonna ask if you wanted to come to Java Jones with me,"

"Oh."

"What's wrong?" Jace asked, sitting next to her.

She lifted her head to find his golden eyes staring at her. Clary bit her lip. She thought about telling Jace everything. Maybe he could help her…

No. Jace wouldn't understand. He had a perfect family. He himself was perfect, if not for the chip in one of his teeth that he had obtained years ago.

Clary shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm fine, just… stressed, I guess."

Jace didn't seem convinced, but didn't push Clary further. "Alright, if you say so."

They sat in silence.

Finally, Jace spoke again. "So, um, you wanna go to Java now?" Jace asked her, biting his lip. Jace stood up and offered her his hand, pleading her with his eyes.

Clary nodded her head hesitantly and took his warm hand.

"Clary?" Jace said, his golden eyes staring into hers.

"Ya?"

"I'm-I'm here for you, okay? You can tell me anything. I won't judge."

Clary was taken back. She bit her lip, unsure of how to express her gratitude.

"Thanks." She said quietly.

Jace nodded his head.

They walked in silence, Clary leaning into Jace's side for support. He wrapped his arm around her, looking down at her. He didn't know why, but he wanted to protect the girl. She was so small, so fragile in his arms. Jace was afraid that if he held her too tightly she might break.

But what if she was already cracked?

 **That chapter was really hard to write. I hope you guys felt something when you read it. It's based on a lot of different things going on in my life. I definitely had a lump in my throat while writing a lot of it.**

 **On a lighter note, you've probably seen that I've changed my summary. I've done so so that it fits my story better. That being said, the old summary still applies. I hope you guys understand. Let me know how you feel about it; is it better, is it worse? I really wanna know.**

 **Anyways, don't forget to review. Love you guys!**

 **~Sammy**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! How's it going? Have you guys watched the new episode of Shadowhunters yet? I'm currently watching it as I type. What are your thoughts on it? I personally didn't like episode 3 cuz there was so much making out in it. They made Camille and Simon make out, which never happened, plus they over sexualize Isabelle. And Magnus is portrayed as such a bad person. And I really didn't like the way they introduced his attraction to Alec. It was like. "Grr, I'm so mean. Oooh, look a hot boy, marry me!"**

 **I know I shouldn't complain, though. I mean, acting is hard. I had to play Tinker Bell in my school's musical. To put it nicely, Tink is kind of a bitch. It was pretty hard keeping in character, especially since I couldn't retake scenes where I had messed up. For example, in one of the scenes, I had almost died, and the guy playing Peter had to drag me back onto the stage. While he was dragging me, my skirt rid up and the rest of the cast almost saw my undies through my tights. They would have, had I not push them down at the last second, causing the audience to laugh at me… ya… what fun!**

 **Anyways, thank you guys so much for reviewing and following and favouriting! It means so fricking much to me 3**

 **cheshire15: I'm glad you liked it. But if only she could open up. Most of this story will be Clary's struggles. *sigh*. Here's the next chapter :)**

 **HeronFray104: If you want Jace, then Jace you shall have! (I just don't know when I'll do a full chapter of just Jace though, if that's what you want. It'll come though, hopefully) But sadly, Clace won't be happening for a while :( It will happen though! (Legit, the name of the document I'm writing this on is called "Clace FF") Jace will always have a special place for Clary in his heart, but it's gonna take a while for him to actually… you know… get Clary to fall for him, I guess? It's hard to say it without spoiling everything. But other than that, thank you so much for reviewing!**

 **Debra Williams: Jocelyn is based upon someone very close to me in my life. I'm glad that some of my readers can relate to her as well, even if it isn't in the best way. I hope things get better with your mom. 3**

 **jcm.139: When I read your review, I couldn't stop smiling. Thank you so much! That means so much to me. I'm super glad you like my story so much. Here's the next chapter :)**

 **Alright, the song I'm recommending for this chapter is "Young Blood" Bea Miller.**

 **On with the story!**

Clary sat in class, absent mindedly doodling in her notebook. She looked up to see a face staring down at her drawing. "Um, hi there." She said.

The boy looked up. "Oh, hi. I'm Simon. You're really good at art."

Clary smiled awkwardly. "Thanks." Clary went back to drawing.

She had been drawing a boy with antlers, and then under the boy, the words "Sugar we're goin' down swinging" was written in large blocky letters.

"Hold on, is that Fall Out Boy?" Simon asked her.

Clary looked up, a smile on her face. "You know Fall Out Boy?"

Simon nodded eagerly. "They're one of my favourite bands."

Clary laughed. "Mine too! I'm Clary by the way." She said, sticking out her hand.

Simon smiled and shook it. "Nice to meet you."

~oOo~

"So, who was that guy you were talking to? Cuz whoever he was, he was kinda cute." Asked Isabelle.

Clary rolled her eyes. Isabelle thought that every boy except her brother was 'cute'. "Oh, that was just Simon. He just moved here. Look, here he comes."

Clary pointed to Simon. He was just walking into the cafeteria, lunch bag in hand.

Clary ushered him over. He smiled when he saw her and hurried over to the table.

"Hey Simon."

"Hey Clary. Hi there…"

"Isabelle." Said Izzy with a smile.

"Hi." He said, his face turning pink

Isabelle laughed. "Hello."

Jace appeared beside Clary. "Hey Clare-Bear."

"Hey Jacey-Wacey."

Jace scrunched his nose. "Jacey-Wacey?"

Clary smirked. "That's what you get for calling me Clare-Bear."

Simon cleared his throat. "And who might you be?" Jace asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy.

Simon glared back. "I'm Simon. And who are you?"

Jace raised his head, looking down at Simon. "The name's Jace, Rat Face. Hey look, I'm a poet and I didn't even know it." Said Jace, an amused twinkle in his eye.

Simon huffed and puffed out his chest. "Rat Face? At least I don't look like the sun threw up on me." Countered Simon.

Jace laughed. "Is that a compliment, Rat Face?"

Simon's face turned red. He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could make a sound, Alec and Jonathan came and sat down at the table.

"Hey guys." Said Alec.

"Hey Clary," Jon said, sitting down on the other side of Clary and kissing her cheek.

"Hey Jon."

Jonathan turned back to Alec, continuing their conversation. "Anyways, Alec, are you sure you want to do Business and Technologies? I've got a friend in highschool, and he hates it."

"You have friends?" Cut in Clary, a smirk on her face.

Jon glared at his step sister. "Ya, whatever Clary."

Simon cleared his throat again. "Um, Clary, are you and this guy… dating?"

Clary and Jon looked at each other. Jon burst out laughing, and Clary's face turned as red as her head. She buried her face in her hands. "Ugh, no way, Simon, he's my step brother!"

Relief flooded Simon's face. "Oh, okay. Sorry about that."

Jon smiled at him. "Nah, it's alright, you couldn't have known."

Simon looked at Jace now. "Um, how about you, Jace? Are you dating Clary?"

Jace's eyes widened. He _wished_ he was dating Clary, but she had no idea he even had feelings for her. He tried to brush off Simon's question.

"Me and _Clary_? Psh, no way. I could never date Clary, that'd be too weird." Jace plastered a disgusted look onto his face, even though all he wanted to do was tell Clary he was lying.

Jace saw hurt flash onto Clary's face, but it was gone as soon as it appeared.

" _Of course he doesn't want to date you, Clary. You're ugly and annoying and dumb. Why would Jace want to date a person like you?"_ Clary asked herself. " _Wait a minute, since when have I cared about dating Jace? What the heck?"_ Clary shook her head to clear her thoughts.

Suddenly, the bell rang, signifying the end of lunch.

The group got up. "Okay, see you guys later!" Said Clary. She walked out of the lunch room with Simon at her side. They rushed to get back to their class. She bumped into Seelie along the way.

"Watch where you're going red head." Seelie sneered.

Clary rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't have to if you hadn't been drooling all over Meliorn." Clary said back.

Seelie's face turned red. "Just get out of my way, okay?" She pushed past Clary and Simon.

"Nice to see you too!" Clary shouted behind her back.

Seelie gave her a finger behind her back.

"Oh, that's not very nice Seelie!" Clary called, but she was too far gone to hear.

Simon and Clary burst out laughing. "That was _awesome!_ Are you always that badass?" Asked Simon.

Clary shrugged. "Nah, usually I just sit in a corner picking my nose."

"Umm, good to know?"

Clary laughed. "I was just kidding, smart one."

Simon smiled. "Oh. Oops."

Clary playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Come on, let's get to class."

~oOo~

The class waited for their teacher to arrive. They spoke amongst themselves until Mr. Blackburn walked into the class.

"Alright grade sevens, get out your math notebooks, we're going to be working on the question on the board."

It was math class, and the students were learning about BEDMAS. Clary looked at the question on the board.

(3+5)x7(9x3)=?

She did the math. She checked her answer with Simon. "How did you get that, Clary?" He asked her. She had obviously gotten the question wrong.

 _Stupid! You can't even do this simple equation right!_ She scolded herself.

She explained how she had gotten her answer. Simon nodded in understanding. He then proceeded to teach her how to get the correct answer. "... so the answer should be 1512."

Clary smiled, finally understanding how to do the question. "Oh, okay. Thanks Simon."

Simon blushed. "No problem, Clary."

Suddenly, they heard laughter behind them. "Oooh, look. Clary found herself a new _boyfriend_."

Clary turned towards the voice to find Kaelie Whitewillow.

"Simon isn't my boyfriend, Kaelie. He's just my friend."

Kaelie pursed her bright pink lips and raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you say, carrot top."

Simon spoke up. "What's your problem? What have you got against Clary Kayla, or whatever your name is? Clary is awesome and super nice, you would be lucky to have her as a friend." Simon glared at the girl.

Kaelie laughed again. "Looks like the new boy's got a crush. What did you say your name was again, four eyes?"

Simon's face turned red and he looked down. "Simon," He muttered.

"Well, Simon, I'm going to be telling Seelie _all_ about you and how you're dating Clary the Slut." Kaelie turned around and walked back to her desk to where some of her friends were sitting. They all whispered and pointed at Clary, laughing at her.

Clary's face turned red in embarrassment. _Did people really call her that? She wasn't a slut. She didn't even know what the word meant. But whatever it was, Kaelie was probably right. Clary probably_ was _a slut._

Suddenly, the teacher went up to the board and asked the class if they had answered the question. The class nodded their heads. He then asked them how they solved the question. A chorus of hands went up as students waited to be called upon.

Clary sat in silence for the rest of the day.

~oOo~

As Jace lay in his bed, he thought about all of the things that had happened previously in the day.

Mostly, though, he thought about Clary. Her beautiful curly red hair, her bright green eyes, the freckles that dusted her button nose, and her plump lips that Jace wanted to kiss so badly…

It had been a year since her break down. Clary never brought it up again after that day, and Jace never tried to ask her about it, for fear of making Clary uncomfortable. He hoped Clary would tell him what _really_ happened when she was ready.

He also thought about the new boy. _Simon_. Jace _really_ didn't like the boy. He could tell that Simon would be very clingy, especially since he obviously had a crush on Clary. Clary had been telling Jace about Simon as they walked home. They shared more similarities than Jace could count.

He hated the way Clary's eyes brightened when she talked about him. Simon was _exactly_ Clary's type.

He hated to admit it, but he was secretly scared that Rat Face would take Clary away from him.

Jace smiled darkly. The boy didn't _really_ look like a rat, he had just started calling him that because he was jealous.

He let out a sigh and closed his eyes, thinking of Clary as he drifted to sleep.

 **Wooo! Alright, the chapter is done! Did you guys like it? Leave a review! Love you guys!**

 **~Sammy**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Wooo! My two week hiatus is over! Sorry to keep you guys waiting so long. Oh my gosh, I have a lot of reviews to reply to!(Not that I'm complaining, of course.) Guys, we hit 60 followers and 25 favourites! Absolutely amazing! Gah, you guys are so freaking amazing! Oh, and thanks to the two people who actually reviewed on my fake chapter, that was super kind of you guys. I love you guys so much :***

 **Ace2001: Haha, don't worry, I would've probably done the same. Thanks for reviewing :)**

 **monkeey76: Yay, I'm glad you thought so! Thanks for the good wishes. (I got an 88% on it. That's an A :1)**

 **BrunetteAngel12: Gah! Feelings are so freaking important, thanks for telling me that, and for the good feedback. As for Clary and Jocelyn, sadly, they won't be getting along for a while. Their relationship is a major plotline for the story. And I'll make sure to not switch the POV's around as much anymore :)**

 **InTheShadowLady: Yay! Thank you so much. Here's the next chapter :)**

 **HeronFray104: Teehee, jealous Jace was fun to write, I'm glad you found it fun to read. There might even me more of him in the future… ;)**

 **4everness: Yes! Fall Out Boy is one of my favourite bands! Thanks for reviewing**

 **Guest: Thanks for reviewing. Here's the next chapter**

 **Debra Williams: That's a great idea, but I don't plan on going that route in my story. Thanks for the suggestion and reviewing though :)**

 **Flora Silverthrush: Thank you! Here's the next chapter :). I had to re add your name like 3 times cuz it wasn't working. Sorry about that**

 **Just so you guys know, I realized that I missed a couple of replies, so I had to add those last minute. Sorry guys :)**

 **Oh, new game. I've hidden a reference to a musical in the chapter. The first person who finds the reference, the title of the song it's from, and the musical it's from, get the first 700 words of the next chapter a day before I publish it. (I know that whoever wins might want it earlier, but I usually add chapters to the story right after I've finished writing) Because I'm not completely evil, I'll give you a few hints. The musical is based off of the life of one of the Founding Fathers of America. Biggest hint of them all, the man for which the musical is named after died in a duel three years after his son died the same way.**

 **Gah, it's so unfair, because every other founding father's story gets told, every other founding father gets to grow old.** _ **Except**_ **for this one.**

 **Sorry, I feel really strongly about this.**

 **Anyways... Just so you know, the quote isn't word for word. I've altered it slightly just so that it makes sense in the context of wherever I've put it. If you think you've got it, leave a review telling me what you think it is. That would be enough. Thanks :)**

 **The song for this chapter is "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" By Meghan Trainor and "All of Me" By John Legend.**

 **Because I've given you guys such a long AN, I'm going to try and give you a longer chapter as well. On with the story!**

~oOo~

Mrs. Graymark spoke amongst her students. "It would be fun, though, you've got to admit." He said to Clary, Simon, Maia, Jace and Isabelle.

Isabelle clapped her hands together. "Oh my god _yes_! You wouldn't know who you get partnered up with, and it gets all of the younger grades going as well. Plus, it wouldn't be as awkward because you wouldn't be asking someone because you _liked_ them, but because you got randomly paired with them. I for one, think we should do it."

Clary groaned. "But what if I get paired up with someone gross, like," She paused, remembering that their teacher was standing in front of them. She blushed. "Nevermind." She squeaked.

"Well, maybe we should see what the rest of the class thinks of it." Jace said with a smile. He was completely for this idea. It could mean that he might be paired up with Clary…

Mrs. Graymark clapped her hands, drawing the attention of the students to the front of the class. "Alright, guys, so, we were just talking, and we had an amazing idea for the upcoming Valentine's Day dance." The class started whispering, wondering what the idea was. "We were thinking that if you wanted to, we could randomly pair people up, and they would dance during the first slow dance. How does that sound?"

The majority of the class thought it was a good idea, but a few students groaned.

Mrs. Graymark laughed. "Oh _hush_. You only have to do it if you want to. Those who are doing it, get a piece of paper from the recycling bin, rip a piece off, and write your name on it. After that, fold it up and then put it in…" She grabbed an empty bin from the book shelf. ",here! I'll ask the other class if they want to do it as well, just to even out the numbers." The bell rang, signifying the end of the period. The students who were participating put their names in the bin on their way out of the class.

Clary gathered up her things and fell into step beside Simon. "You should do it," She said with a smile.

"I'm only doing it if you do it." Simon said back.

Clary groaned. "But at least you've got a reason to want to! You've got this giant crush on Izzy. You've been given the perfect opportunity to _maybe_ dance with her, and you're not even taking it!"

Simon sighed. " _Fine._ You're not off the hook, though."

Clary bit her lip. "Look Si, I do want to do it, but I just don't think my mom would be very okay with it…" She trailed off.

Simon nodded in understanding. He opened his mouth to say something else, when Isabelle came and swept Simon away with her. Maia was close behind Isabelle. She slowed down and walked alongside Clary. "So, are you in the Thirsty Games?"

Clary laughed and raised her eyebrows. "The _Thirsty Games?"_

Maia shrugged. "That's what everyone's calling them…"

Clary shook her head. "No, that's not really my thing, you know? How about you, are you in the Thirsty Games?"

Maia smiled and nodded. "Yup." She popped the 'p' at the end of the word.

Clary giggled. "So, are you hoping you get paired up with anyone in general…" Clary already knew the answer. Maia had a _huge_ crush on their friend Jordan.

Maia groaned and pushed her playfully. "Shut up." She said with a smile.

"Fine. So, who else is in the Games?" Asked Clary.

Maia puckered her lips and though. "Um, I know that the people who _aren't_ doing it are Helen, Aline, George, Jessamine, Tessa, and Jem."

Clary nodded. Suddenly, a thought hit her. If those were the people who _weren't_ in the games, that meant that Sebastian was in the games. What if he got paired up with her? She bit her lip at the thought. She had had a crush on Sebastian since the beginning of the year. He was athletic, kind, and had had beautiful platinum blond hair that somehow matched with his dark brown eyes. His eyes were Clary's favourite part about Sebastian. One look into his eyes, and it was if the sky was the limit. She was helpless.

"Clary? Clary!" Maia waved her hand in front of Clary's face.

Clary snapped to attention. "Sorry, ya?"

"We should hurry, gym is gonna start any minute now."

Clary blushed. "Sorry."

~oOo~

Clary changed out of her sweaty gym clothes. _Ew_. She thought to herself. The armpits of the shirt were soaked through. She tossed the shirt into her gym bag and pulled out the shirt she had been wearing before gym.

She walked out of the change room and walked back upstairs to her locker to put away her gym bag and grab her lunch.

She walked to the cafeteria and sat down at an empty table. She sighed. She was going to miss the school. It was her last year of elementary school, the next the first of highschool. She opened her lunch bag and pulled out a wrap her mother had made for her earlier that morning. She unwrapped the tinfoil enveloping the food and bit into it.

She ate in silence for a few minutes until Isabelle, Simon, Maia, Jordan and Helen came and sat down at the table with her. She looked up and smiled at them as she finished chewing, before greeting them with a "Hello,".

The group sat down, each saying hi back. "Are you ready for the dance tomorrow?" Helen asked with a coy smile.

Clary rolled her eyes. "Yup. So, you're not in the games?" She asked her.

Helen shook her head. "Nope. The system is hacked. I'd be paired up with a guy, and that would be the definition of Hell."

Isabelle cut in. "Why don't you just ask you-know-who to dance?" She asked, glancing towards Helen's crush Aline.

Helen pouted. "'Cause she's straight, and because even if she agreed to dance with me, everyone would shun her they way they shun me because they're so homophobic. I don't want her to have to suffer through that."

Isabelle looked down. "Oh."

"So," Said Jordan. "You're in the games as well, right Maia? Are you hoping for anyone in general?"

Maia's cheeks turned a light shade of pink, and she hoped that Jordan hadn't noticed. "Um… I don't know… How about you?" She said, avoiding eye contact with him.

It was Jordan's turn to blush. "Well, I was kinda hoping… nevermind, forget it."

Maia looked back at him. "No no, what were you gonna say?"

Jordan took in a deep breath. "Do you really wanna know?"

Maia nodded eagerly.

Jordan bit his lip. "I was kinda hoping…" He paused. "I was kinda hoping you would want to go with me, Maia."

Jace came and sat down at the table with them. "What's up?" He asked nonchalantly.

The Isabelle, Simon, Helen and Clary glared at him. "Shh!" Clary scolded.

"Sheesh, sorry," He muttered with a frown.

The couple hadn't even noticed Jace's presence.

Maia's eyes widened. "Really?" She said quietly.

"Um, that is, if you, um, oh my god, I mean-" Jordan stuttered.

Maia placed a finger on his lips, cutting him off. "Of course I want to go to the dance with you, Jordan. I've had a crush on you since the fifth grade!" She blushed even more as she moved her finger away again.

Jordan smiled widely. "Really? Oh my god, are you serious?" He ran a hand through his chestnut hair. "I've liked you for just as long."

"Hold on, so Maia and Jordan are confessing their obvious feelings for each other, right?" Jace whispered into Clary's ear.

Clary nodded, her eyes glued on the scene in front of her.

"Of course, I'm serious, Kyle." She whispered. They were both standing now, mere inches away from each other.

Jace groaned. "For fucks sake, just kiss already."

And they did just that. Jordan grabbed Maia by the hand, tugging her towards him. She stood on her tiptoes, and cupped his face in her hands. He placed his hands on her waist and pressed his lips to hers.

Jace smirked. "Finally."

~oOo~

The day of the big Valentine's day dance was finally here. The pairing ceremony was starting, students from three different classes waiting patiently for Mrs. Graymark to draw the names from two different bins, one with girls, and another with boys.

As Mrs. Graymark was talking amongst a group of students, Tessa walked up to her. "Um, sorry to bother you Mrs. G, but apparently someone put my name into the games, but I really don't want to participate."

The woman pursed her lips. "Who put your name in?"

"I don't know, sadly."

Mrs. Graymark frowned. "I'm going to have to do some digging," She said to herself. She sighed. "Alright, go find your name in the pink bin."

Tessa scurried off to find her name in the bin. Mrs. Graymark clapped her hands to grab the attention of the students. "Alright, guys, I've got bad news. Somebody has backed out of the games, so now we have an odd number of girls, which means that this won't work. Unless someone wants to join last minute, we're gonna have to cancel the games."

The class erupted in groans. Students urged their friends to join the games, but no one did.

"Clary, you've got to, we're one girl short!"

"It'll be fun!"

"Please!"

Clary's friends urged her to join. She sighed. " _Fine_."

She walked to the front of the class, just as another student walked out to go find another person who might want to join. "Wait, wait, wait. I'll join the games." She said to her teacher. A smile broke onto the woman's face. "Really? Thank you so much, Clary. Jake, come back, Clary's in the games!" She called after the boy. He walked back in and sat with his friends.

The rest of the class started whooping and cheering for the red head almost immediately. She stole a glance at Jace, who saw her looking and winked at her. Her face turned red. "Whatever." She muttered to herself.

"Alright, alright, we can draw the names now. Everyone settle down." Mrs. Graymark called out.

The class quieted down, sitting next to their friends, silent as the teacher drew the names and wrote them down on the whiteboard.

Maia and Bat

Will and Camille

Julian and Emma

Cecily and Gabriel

Gideon and Sophie

Jordan and Aline

Seelie and Sebastian

Meliorn and Isabelle

Maureen and Simon

Eliza and Alexander

Frank and Hazel

Tyson and Ella

Thorne and Cress

Tobias and Beatrice

Piper and Jason

Nate and Jessamine

There was an "Ooooooh" After every pair was written on the board. Clary had no idea that so many people had signed up for the Thirsty games.

Everyone's names had been drawn except for...

Jace voiced her thoughts, as if he could read her mind. "So that leaves me and Clary." He tried to control the smile on his face. He didn't want it to get _too_ big. He couldn't give away his excitement to his friends. Or Clary. Especially not Clary.

It didn't matter, though. Clary couldn't see Jace from where she was sitting. He was surrounded by a group of all of the populars at their school. She sighed. _At least I didn't get someone gross,_ she thought to herself.

This wasn't going to be so bad.

~oOo~

The dance started in 5 minutes. Clary quickly tied her hair into a ponytail. It would get hot in the gym, and she wanted to be prepared. She mentally kicked herself. _Why did I have to wear sweat pants?_ She thought to herself. Clary hated sweat pants, but her mother insisted she wore them in the colder months. Clary had decided that if she had to wear the sweatpants, the least she could do was look good while doing it. Her dark navy blue sweat pants were paired with a flattering shirt with white and grey stripes, each an inch apart. She checked for any pieces of hair that she might've missed when she was putting her hair up, and left the washroom when she found that she looked fine. She raced to her classroom.

"You ready?" Isabelle asked her.

She smiled and nodded her head. "Have you got your money?" Clary asked the raven haired girl.

"Yup. Have you got yours?"

"Mmhm." She said, pulling out two one dollar bills.

An announcement rang through the school. "Would all the grade six, seven and eights please make their way down to the gym for the dance, that's all grade six, seven and eighth students to the dance. Thank you."

Isabelle looked back at Clary, a large smile on her face. "Let's go."

~oOo~

The dance, just as Clary had predicted, got hot and sweaty fast. The songs went by with a blur, Clary standing in a group with some of her hands as they sang along to the songs, bouncing up and down to the music. Suddenly, the music stopped. Jace stood on the stage, a microphone in his hands.

"The first slow dance is about to start. We ask that all of the girls move to the left side of the gym and the boys to the right. When the song starts, a boy or a girl will ask the opposite gender to dance. Have fun." He said with a small smile. He raced off the stage.

The students did as was asked of them. The music started, and Clary looked around. All of the other couples had already started dancing. _Where's Jace?_ She asked herself, looking around frantically. She moved away from her group of friends, hoping to find him. Just as she moved away, she heard his voice. She turned around and saw him asking them if they had seen her. They all pointed to Clary. Jace turned around and smiled, walking to closer to Clary.

 _You ready?_ She was prepared to say. She never got to say it though, as Jace cut her off with-

"May I have this dance?" He offered her his hand

Clary raised her eyebrows, surprised that he was being so formal. She lifted her arms and placed them on his shoulders as he placed on the curves above her hips. They swayed in time with the song, "True Colours" By Cyndi Lauper.

Clary smiled. "I love this song." She said to herself as she hummed along with the song.

"Me too," He said.

"So how's it going?" He asked her, ending their awkward silence.

She blushed. Clary was glad that the gym was dark because otherwise, Jace would be able to tell just how red her face was. "Not bad, I guess."

"Cool," He said, just as a group of the popular boys passed. They all cheered, clapping him on the back and congratulating him. Jace laughed awkwardly as Clary looked away, her blush becoming redder than it already was.

Jace looked back at her after they left. "Oh my god, all the teachers are staring at us."

Clary was about to turn her head back to see this for herself, but was stopped in her tracks. "No, don't look back. Don't do it Clary." His eyes bore into hers as he spoke, a smile on his face.

And despite herself, Clary listened.

Jace made awkward small talk. "So, what do you do for fun?" He asked her.

She looked down. "I dunno, I draw a lot. I listed to a lot of music as well…" She trailed off. "What about you?" She asked him.

He laughed. "All I do is play soccer. And train, basically every day. Except for Thursdays and Sundays." He said with a smile.

Clary laughed. "Those Thursdays and Sundays are important."

They plunged into silence, swaying in time with the music until the song ended.

"So, are you gonna dance with anyone else?" Jace asked her with a smirk.

Clary blushed again. "I'm not planning on dancing with anyone else…"

Jace raised an eyebrow. "Yes you are,"

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are. I see it in your smile."

Clary laughed, shaking her head as she turned away to find her friends.

"Clary, wait,"

Clary turned.

He looked like he was going to say something amazing, heartstopping. He bit his lip, and shook his head. "You should smile more."

She blushed and nodded her head before walking away, his words ringing through her head.

~oOo~

A few more songs passed, and the second slow dance came. She went to the left side of the gym, talking with her friends. She wasn't expecting to slow dance with anyone else when-

Sebastian. He was there. Clary breathed in sharply. He was probably going to ask Isabelle to dance. Isabelle already had a line for the people who wanted to slow dance with her.

But Clary was wrong. Sebastian turned to Clary, held out his hand and said. "I was wondering if you would like to dance, Clary."

Clary smiled politely, though on the inside she was screaming in excitement. "Sure." She took his hand, and he lead her away from her friends, until they were in the middle of the room.

Their conversation was sweet, they spoke of their friends, their family, and everything in between. Everything was perfect. He was perfect. The song ended, and they stepped away from each other.

Just when Clary thought it couldn't get any better, he grabbed her right hand and squeezed it.

"I know we don't really know each other that well, but I'd really like to change that. Clary, would you like to go out with me?"

Clary was speechless. "Are you serious?" She squeaked.

Sebastian laughed, running his fingers through his platinum blond hair. "Of course I'm serious, Clare. I really like you."

Clary nodded her head eagerly. "Yes, I'd love to go out with you."

Sebastian smiled warmly. "See you later, Clary." He said, before squeezing her hand again.

Clary stood there in shock, unable to process what had just happened.

She was just asked out on a date with her crush.

And she knew that it was wrong, but she just couldn't keep her thoughts on Sebastian. She kept thinking about _him,_ how he had been so adorably awkward as they spoke. It was refreshing. Jace was usually so cocky, so sure of himself, and to see him so out of his element put him in a new light. Not that he had a reason to _not_ be cocky. The way his curly golden hair fell into his eyes was flawless, just like the rest of him. She thought about the way his hands felt against her skin, the way her skin tingled after they left her skin. How _good_ it had felt.

She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't get Jace off of her mind.

 **Tada! Did you guys like it? If you guys actually read through the list of pairs for the dance, you might recognize the names. The added in names are some of my favourite pairings. Sadly, I had to take a couple out because of how obvious of where they're from (and I might've hidden a clue there) Don't forget the quote! As I said before, first 700 words of the next chapter will get PMed to you if you guess correctly. If no one guesses it, I'll reveal the quote, and use a different quote next chapter. I gave you a bunch of clues, (even if you're not aware of it) and I really hope that someone figures it out. Next chapter is also during the dance. The time skips won't be as big from here on out. Anyways, leave a review! And as King George might say, I will love you 'till my dying days!**

 **~Sammy**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! I'm so so so sorry for not updating earlier. I had a french video due, and it took hours to edit and film, plus, I went to Niagra falls with my family, and then I had a math test, and I had writer's block and ugh, I'm so sorry. To make up for it, I'm making this chapter longer than I normally would (I usually make them around 2,000 words. This one is around 3,000) .**

 **Ooh big news, I'm writing another story called "Unwilling Angels". The title may change, but I'm not sure. I'm looking for a beta for the story, so feel free to PM me if you're interested.**

 **Your reviews mean the world to me, honestly. It blows my mind that you guys take a few moments out of your time just to tell me you like what I do. You guys are so amazing!**

 **Flora Silverthrush: Thanks so much! Here's the next chapter, sorry it's late. Enjoy :)**

 **HeronFray104: Haha, funny you should say that. I was actually planning on making this whole chapter in Jace's point of view, even before your review. Great minds think alike :). There is definitely gonna be some drama with Sebastian and Clary. You'll find out more about it this chapter :1**

 **BrunetteAngel12: Yay! I'm glad you loved it :) Jealous Jace is super fun to write, and there will be more of cocky Sebastian, as well as cocky Jace. Sorry about swapping again. I'll do my best not to do it, but I'm not making any promises :) Congratz on getting the reference… I hope you enjoyed the preview :)**

 **Debra Williams: Yay! I'm so happy you enjoyed it :D Here's the next chapter. You are awesome :)**

 **Songs for this chapter are "She Will Be Loved" By Maroon5 and "Love Yourself" By Justin Bieber.**

 **As I already said, this chapter is (mostly) in Jace's point of view. On with the story!**

~oOo~

He took his hands off of her waist. They felt like they were burning… but in a good way. He was sad the dance was over, but scared as well. _What if they started dating, and they were always like this? That would be a disaster._

The dance was awkward, to say the least. Jace did his best to make sure she enjoyed herself, but he couldn't help but feel bad for her. She looked so out of her element. Like she wanted to run and hide. Her face was almost as red as her hair by the time they had finished dancing, though Clary probably didn't know that he had noticed that.

And while Clary looked awkward as they danced and spoke, she also looked… happy. She was actually _smiling._ Sure, she smiled a lot anyways, but she wasn't _really_ smiling. She was forcing it, was always trying to hide her true feelings. No one could be that happy _all_ the time.

So all things considered, Jace was overjoyed that he was able to make her smile.

"So, are you planning on dancing with anyone else?" Jace asked her with a smirk as a new song with an upbeat tempo and horrible lyrics started playing.

She shook her head, a blush creeping on her face. _She was so adorable when she blushed._ "I'm not planning on dancing with anyone else…"

Jace raised an eyebrow. "Yes you are." _Me, possibly…_

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are," He argued. "I can see it in your smile." Her genuine, happy smile. Jace felt his heart melt a little at the sight. It was so rare that she smiled so much at once.

Clary laughed at Jace's antics, and turned away to find her friends. Probably to tell them about their dance.

The realization hit him like a brick to the face.

 _No, it couldn't be over already. No, no, no, NO!_

"Clary, wait,"

She stopped and turned around, looking at him expectantly.

Jace bit his lip, thoughts flying through his head.

 _Shoot, now what? Say something, anything. Tell her she looks gorgeous, you really really like her, tell her, tell her..._

"You should smile more."

He mentally kicked himself. _For fucks sake, Jace! 'You should smile more'? Bloody idiot!_

She blushed and nodded her head, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Then she walked away from him, turning her head once more to look back at him. She gave him a little wave, then disappeared into the waves of students.

Just as he turned around as well, a group of guys came up to him, the same guys from earlier.

The ones he called his _friends_. They were all so… fake. He just couldn't put his finger on it. He couldn't even remember half of their names. They were all so similar, if one of them got kidnapped by an ax murderer, no one would notice. They were all sporty white guys with blond, dirty blond, or brown hair. Their eyes didn't have much variety either, each with either brown or blue eyes.

They were laughing at some joke one of them had made about butts.

Jace groaned inwardly. They were the _last_ people he wanted to see right now.

"Congratz man," Sebastian evaporated out of nowhere. He patted Jace's shoulder as he came to stand next to him.

Jace rolled his eyes. "On what?" He asked.

"On dancing with the Fire Ant."

Jace forced himself to smile, as if he was in on a joke.

"So, is she a good dancer?" Sebastian asked him.

Jace shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess." He didn't want to give away any of his feelings for Clary. "Why?"

Sebastian licked his lips. "I'm gonna ask her to dance."

Jace tried not to sound _too_ surprised when he responded. "Why?"

"'Cause a couple of the guys and I made this bet. The first person to break some random girl's heart wins. Bonus points if you break more than one girl's heart." He said, an evil glint in his eyes. Sebastian was _very_ competitive. He would do whatever he could to win this bet.

Jace swallowed nervously. "What's the prize?"

Sebastian smirked. "The satisfaction of knowing that I can do anything I want, and not have to face the consequences. That I can make any girl fall for me with the flick of the wrist, and then drop her like an egg." He plastered an innocent look on his face. "Once I'm done with those girls, they'll be cracked." The innocence in his eyes was gone, replaced with a hunger for pain, rage and heartbreak.

"So why Clary? What'd she do to you?" Jace said, fearing for what was to come.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, speaking to Jace as if he were a small infant. "Aww, is little Jacey-Wacey jealous?"

Jace forced himself to roll his eyes, to seem like he couldn't care less about Clary. "Of course not. Why would I want that silly little girl when I could have any other girl in the school?" _God, I hope Clary never finds out I ever said that about her._

Sebastian nodded his head, satisfied with Jace's answer.

"Well to answer your question, it's because she so _obviously_ has a crush on me. It'll be so easy to break her puny little heart." The evil glint in his eyes was even brighter than it had been before.

Suddenly, the next slow song started. Sebastian licked his lips. "That's my cue. Wish me luck." He gave Jace a wicked smile before he walked away to go find Clary.

The group of Jace's "Friends" walked away as soon as Sebastian left. Jace let out a sigh of relief. But it was short lived, as a group of girls came up to him, each asking him if he wanted to dance with them. Jace put on a fake smile and grabbed a random girl from the group. _Kaelie. Great._

Jace winked at her, and pulled her close to him. "Why hello there." He said, his voice husky with fake passion. Kaelie giggled. Jace turned his head slightly so she wouldn't notice him rolling his eyes. Suddenly, an idea popped into Jace's head. If he could get to Clary first, tell her what was really going on… but Clary had been crushing on Sebastian for such a long time. He couldn't let her down like that. He would let her go on one date with him. _One date_. That was it. After that, he would tell her about Sebastian's true plans and _boom_! Problem solved.

"...so I told her that... if she wanted you...bite me!... How dare she?!" Kaelie ranted on and on and on while Jace pretended to listen, interjecting gasps and nodding at random points of her speech. It worked wonders.

Jace could see Sebastian and Clary in the corner of his eye. Sebastian was making her blush even more than he had been. He felt a pang of jealousy in his chest. _She was smiling_. That dirty liar had made her smile. The next thing she knew, she would be on her knees, drowning in her own tears because of that boy. Clary already had enough trouble at home, she didn't need more at school.

Jace didn't know what _really_ happened at her house, but he knew it had to be bad, if she couldn't even talk to anyone about it.

He wished that she would open up to him, just like she would've done so many years ago. But in one day, years worth of love and trust was stripped away, and now Clary mostly kept to herself. If not for her small group of friends, she would've been known as the school loner. Clary used to be talkative, loud, and outgoing. Happy, even.

She was still loud, talkative and outgoing, but happy? No. It was all just a charade. She did her best to act like she wasn't in pain, like she wasn't suffering, but Jace could see right through her big smiles and loud laughs.. He remembered the first time he noticed Clary seemed slightly… off.

 _They walked into the park, side by side. They took in the beautiful scenery, the lush trees, the blue skies, the dandelions, the green grass. It was almost as green as the eyes of a certain red haired girl._

 _They found a random spot in the grass and sat down. They talked and talked for what felt like hours, until Jace found himself with his head rested in Clary's lap. She played with his hair as he spoke._

" _I can't believe my mom would be so mean! I'm not allowed to play soccer for a week!" Jace complained. He pulled grass out of the dirt as he spoke, venting his frustration. He looked up at Clary when she didn't respond. "Clary? What's wrong?"_

 _She quickly blinked the hot tears away. "It's nothing." She said. She forced a smile. "Continue." She ushered him on, urging him to return to his rant._

 _Jace looked at her unsurely, sitting up. "Clare, you're_ crying. _Tell me what's wrong."_

 _Clary shook her head forcefully and closed her eyes, as if to recompose herself. "Honestly, Jace, I'm fine." She opened her eyes and grabbed his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "I just… yawned. That's all." She assured him. Jace unsurely rested his head back in her lap, her words echoing through his head._

 _ **I'm fine.**_

He had been so foolish to assume that she was telling the truth. Of course she wasn't fine. How could she be?

Jace blinked. The song was finally over. He winked at Kaelie again, and walked away from her to find his posse.

Again, they congratulated him, patting his back, same old same old. Sebastian came back from his dance with Clary, a smile on his face.

"So, you've joined the bet as well then?"

Jace shot him a questioning look. "What?"

"You danced with teenage-slut number one. You were flirting and everything."

Jace would hardly call that _flirting_ , but he didn't argue. "Oh, ya, obviously. She was all over me, it'll be hilariously easy to break her heart." He nearly cringed at his words. He sounded so _heartless_.

"So, how long do you think it'll be before we can break these girl's hearts?" Jace asked him.

Sebastian thought for a second. "I say we have until the end of highschool. We've got to make it look like actually love them, right?"

Jace raised his eyebrows. "You're gonna stay with Clary for _five years?"_

Sebastian laughed. "Of course not. Maybe just a year. Then I'll move onto the next girl, then the next, and so on."

Jace nodded his head. "Oh ok."

This was gonna be a hell of an experience.

~oOo~

Clary walked through the doors and plopped her backpack on the ground. "Hi mom," She called, signifying she was home.

"Hi Clary."

Clary walked into the kitchen, where her mother was cooking. "Is Jon not home yet?"

Jocelyn shook her head. "Can you go make you and your brother's beds?"

Clary groaned. "Why _Jon's_ bed? He can make his bed himself." She whined.

"Because I asked you to."

Clary huffed and walked up the stairs.

 _No. I am_ not _making his bed for him. He can do it himself._

Clary knew it was selfish to think like that, but she had been doing favours for her step brother for the whole week. Bringing him snacks while he was studying for exams, and bringing him his clean clothes from the washing machine in the basement, even waiting for him in front of his high school after her school finished and then holding his heavy textbooks for him all the way home.

Just as she got up the stairs, her mother started ranting about something. She did that a lot lately, yelling for absolutely no reason. She walked to her room, closed the door and plopped down on her bed. She stayed there for a few minutes until her mother called up to her.

"Clary, have you finished making the beds yet?"

Clary opened the door and shouted back at her mother. "No."

Suddenly, her mother started yelling again.

Clary groaned. _What did I do now?_

She walked back down the stairs. "Is something wrong?" She asked politely, standing on the bottom steps.

Her mother was fuming. "Come down here when I'm talking to you! How am I supposed to hear you from all the way up there?" She shouted.

Clary winced. "Sorry." She murmured before walking back up the stairs again.

" _Stupid girl! Can't do anything right. I ask her to do this little thing, and what does she do? Nothing. Why can't she be neater, like me? I was never this lazy when I was her age. Son of a…"_

Clary slammed her door shut before she could hear anything more. She fell onto the bed, her breathing laboured.

 _Why does she hate me? What did I do to deserve this?_

She got up, blinking away tears that were forming in her eyes and turned on the radio. _Maybe some music can cheer me up._

For the first time in forever, only sad songs were playing. The music didn't do any good for her mood, so she turned the radio off again. She sighed and started making her bed.

She heard the front door open, followed by a few pairs of feet walk through the door. She walked out of her room and went down a couple of stairs to try and see who was entering their household.

She saw Luke, Jon and a few of his friends, including Jace, Alec, and Isabelle taking off their shoes.

She sighed in relief. Though Isabelle always came over unannounced, she was always welcome when she did.

It was if Isabelle could sense whenever something was wrong. The only time she came over was when Clary was feeling down on herself. Currently, she was the only one, except for Jon and Luke, who knew about her relationship with her mother.

Clary raced down the stairs to greet her friend. Isabelle smiled brightly as soon as she saw her. "Come on, let's go to my room." Clary said, grabbing Isabelle and practically dragging her up the stairs.

Isabelle laughed giddily as they raced up the stairs. A little _too_ giddily. She was probably just putting up a charade, acting as if nothing was bothering her.

They ran to Clary's room and shut the door behind them. As soon as the door closed, the smile fell off Isabelle's face. "Spit it out."

Clary sighed. "Mom was shouting again." She muttered, sitting down on the floor.

Isabelle scowled and sat next to her. "What'd she say this time?"

She took a hair tie off her wrist and started fiddling with it, wrapping and unwrapping it around her index finger. "She said I'm stupid, I can't do anything right, and she might've called me a bitch." She winced at the last part.

Isabelle's gaze softened. "Oh Clary," She sighed. She wrapped her arms around Clary comforting her.

There was a knock at the door. They broke apart, and Clary got up to go open it. "Yes?" She said to the face. It was Jace.

"Um, your mum wants you guys to come down for dinner." He said awkwardly.

"Okay, thanks. Tell her we'll be down in a moment." She said, closing the door in his face.

~oOo~

Clary, Isabelle, Jon, Jace and Alec finished their dinner in silence. The other boys who had come with them had gone back home a few minutes before dinner had been served.

"Alright guys, I'm going to go upstairs and rest for a bit. Give me a shout if you guys have got any problems." Jocelyn announced and walked up the stairs.

The group only nodded in response, taking their plates to the sink, waiting in a line to clean them. The boys cleaned theirs first, and then raced down to the basement, probably to finish whatever video game they had been playing before dinner had started. Clary watched them as they walked down the stairs. Jace looked up at the last second and gave her a small smile, before disappearing down the stairs.

Suddenly, a thought flew into her head.

 _What if he heard what we were talking about? No, not 'What if', he_ definitely _heard what we were talking about. But just how much did he hear?_

As if she read her mind, Isabelle spoke up. "He probably didn't even hear anything, Clary." Isabelle reassured her.

But they both knew that wasn't true.

Clary sat back down at the table and plopped her head in her hands.

 _Oh no._

 **Alright, done! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Again, I'm really sorry about not updating in so long. I'll try my hardest not to let it happen again.**

 **One last thing, I'm planning on introducing a new character next chapter, and maybe delving deeper into the stories on a few others. The first person to guess both correctly gets the first… 400 words of the next chapter. The first to get only one of the two will get the first 300 words of the next chapter.**

 **Love you guys!**

 **~Sammy**


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